Bill Kenneally's Actions 'Horrific,' But No Fianna Fáil Cover-Up Evidence, Taoiseach Says

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has described the actions of serial child sex abuser Bill Kenneally as "reprehensible and horrific." However, he asserted that a recent commission of investigation report found no evidence of a cover-up within the Fianna Fáil party, despite Kenneally belonging to a prominent Fianna Fáil family.

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It’s very clear that the central conclusion of the commission of investigation is that there was a failure on behalf of An Garda Síochána at the time, in 1987, to deal adequately and properly with the presentation of issues and allegations in respect of Bill Keneally.

The commission's report, published Wednesday, detailed how Kenneally received "objectively favorable treatment" when his crimes first came to the attention of Waterford gardaí in 1987. Martin, who had called for such a commission nearly a decade ago, acknowledged the report's central conclusion: a failure by An Garda Síochána (the Irish police force) at the time to adequately address the allegations against Kenneally.

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The report does not implicate the Fianna Fáil party at all as an organisation and, in fact, makes the point that the Fianna Fáil party was not advised even locally or in any shape or form by any individual.

"The report does not implicate the Fianna Fáil party at all as an organization," Martin stated, adding that the party was not advised locally or otherwise by any individual. He emphasized that the report found "no evidence whatsoever of any conspiracy or any attempt of a cover-up."

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The report is clear there’s no evidence whatsoever of any conspiracy or any attempt of a cover-up, and that’s the evidence – we must allow the report to speak for itself.

Kenneally's relatives included former Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kenneally snr and senior cleric Msgr John Shine. The report indicated that individuals in "responsible positions," including Shine and Billy Kenneally snr, were aware of Bill Kenneally's abuse as early as 1987 and knew he continued abusing children after the late 1980s. Martin acknowledged that the two former public representatives involved "did wrong in the manner in which they addressed the issue." The government is organizing time in the Dáil to debate the report comprehensively and is considering an apology to the victims, with the Minister for Justice set to meet with them. Kenneally, who admitted to grooming, torturing, restraining, and blackmailing boys, received a warning and a psychologist referral instead of a full investigation in 1987. He is currently serving a jail sentence for abusing 15 children between 1979 and 1990.

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The two former public representatives involved did wrong in the manner in which they addressed the issue, no question about that.