Government guilty of letting down most vulnerable...
Published: 12 November, 2005
The Government has once again let down the most vulnerable in Irish society given that Minister Dempsey has been aware for the last two years that some solicitors were overcharging victims of institutional abuse. It has been revealed that a spokesperson for victims of abuse met with Minister Dempsey in 2003 and told him that some firms were charging victims of abuse.
Commenting on the situation Councillor Larry O'Toole stated "This revelation confirms that the Government is guilty of once again letting down the most vulnerable in Irish society. After the scandal of the nursing home fees I thought we had seen the end of this sort of thing. But today we have learned that a Government Minister has been aware of the disgraceful overcharging of victims of abuse by solicitors for the last two years.
Minister Dempsey's excuse, that he could do nothing as Minister for Education at the time, is an insult to all those who have been affected by this scandal.
Of course he could have done something. He could have informed the relevant authorities and the Minister for Justice who may have been able to put a stop to this outrage.
Minister Dempsey needs to make a full and clear statement about this meeting and the actions he took immediately afterwards and I call on him to do so."
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