Fianna Fáil minister criticises party dynasty for failing to report Bill Kenneally’s abuse

Minister of State Mary Butler has strongly criticized the Kenneally political dynasty for their failure to report serial sex abuser Bill Kenneally to authorities, calling their inaction "inexcusable."

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I firmly believe the Kenneally family should have acted – they were a political Fianna Fáil family and the fact that they had knowledge of the abuse in the 1980s and into the 2000s and didn’t act is inexcusable – there was a circle of secrecy.

Butler, a Fianna Fail TD for Waterford, stated that more boys could have been protected if family members, including former TD Billy Kenneally, had spoken out when they learned of the abuse in the 1980s and into the 2000s. She described a "circle of secrecy" that prevented knowledge of the abuse from reaching beyond the family.

A Commission of Investigation, chaired by Judge Michael White, found that senior gardaí committed a serious dereliction of duty by not following up on a report in 1987 that Kenneally had abused a boy. Chief Supt Sean Cashman and Supt PJ Hayes met with Kenneally, who admitted the abuse, but they did not pursue the matter further after the boy's family declined to make a statement.

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The commission did not find that anybody outside the circle of secrecy or the Kenneally family knew about this at a local level, at a national level, at a city level, at a county level. And I know for a fact that they did not know.

The judge noted that despite Kenneally receiving psychiatric treatment, he continued to sexually abuse boys, highlighting the gardaí's failure to investigate properly, even by 1987 standards.

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The Commission of Investigation, chaired by Judge Michael White, found there had been a serious dereliction of duty by senior gardaí when they failed to follow up on a report that Keneally had abused a boy in 1987.

Butler also criticized her predecessor, Brendan Kenneally, for not taking action after learning in 2001 that his cousin was abusing boys. She called her decision to allow Brendan Kenneally to canvass for her in the 2020 election an "error of judgment" after learning he had visited the home of one of his cousin's victims, causing distress.

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Gardaí advised Kenneally to get psychiatric treatment.