State apology over Kenneally abuse 'momentous' - survivor
The Irish government is issuing a formal state apology to survivors of abuse by the late basketball coach Bill Kenneally. The apology follows a commission report that identified a serious dereliction of duty by police in their handling of the case.
Why it matters
State apologies serve as a mechanism for institutional accountability and provide a degree of closure for victims of systemic failures.
A survivor of paedophile Bill Kenneally has said that receiving a State apology is "a momentous day" and will bring closure for him and the others abused by the former basketball coach.
The Government will offer a full and formal State apology to the survivors of Kenneally this afternoon.
It comes after a Commission of Investigation found there was a clear and serious dereliction of duty by senior gardaí when they learned Kenneally sexually abused a boy in the late 1980s.
Kenneally died in prison last month while serving a 19-year sentence for the historic abuse of boys in Waterford.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will lead the full and formal State apology in the Dáil.
Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan will also address the chamber and apologise to survivors for what he has described as the "wholly inadequate" investigation by gardaí into the convicted paedophile.
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