Picture: Senator Alison Comyn with CEO of Dignity4Patients, Adrienne Reilly, and victims and survivors of Michael Shine.
Today, the Government has accepted the recommendation in full for a Commission of Investigation into the crimes of convicted sexual abuser Michael Shine marking a defining moment in one of the darkest chapters in Irish medical history, Senator Alison Comyn has said. For the hundreds of survivors who have spent decades seeking answers, today’s decision is more than a political milestone. It is recognition that their voices have finally been heard, their experiences believed, and their relentless pursuit of truth has not been in vain. The independent scoping exercise concluded that a further State response is required and recommended a Commission of Investigation to examine the institutional response to Michael Shine’s abuse and the unanswered questions that remain.
Senator Comyn said that, for too many years, survivors had carried not only the trauma of the abuse they suffered, but also the burden of unanswered questions.
“Many have waited more than thirty years for this moment. Some feared they would never see it. Today they know they have been heard. They know they have been believed. While this is not the end of their journey, it is an immensely significant step towards the truth and accountability they have fought so courageously to achieve.”
She admitted the announcement was an emotional one for her personally.
“Long before I entered politics, I spent years reporting on Michael Shine’s crimes as a journalist with the Drogheda Independent. I met many of the survivors, listened to their stories and witnessed first-hand the extraordinary courage it took to come forward. Those conversations never left me.”
She said that becoming a Senator gave her the opportunity to continue pursuing answers in a different way by engaging directly with ministers and supporting calls for a full examination of what happened and why.
“But today is not about me. Today belongs to the survivors.”
Senator Comyn paid tribute to Dignity4Patients, founder Bernadette O’Sullivan and CEO Adrienne Reilly, saying their determination had ensured survivors’ voices were never forgotten.
She also acknowledged Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill for commissioning the independent scoping exercise and Lorcan Staines SC for producing what she described as a compassionate and victim-centred roadmap for the next stage.
“Nothing can undo the suffering these men endured. No Commission of Investigation can restore stolen childhoods or erase decades of pain. But it can establish the truth. It can answer questions that have remained unresolved for generations. It can ensure accountability where accountability is due.
“There is still important work ahead, and I will continue to stand with survivors every step of the way. But today, for the first time in a very long time, it feels as though justice has begun to move.
“And for that reason, today belongs to the survivors.”
