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Dignity4Patients - Press Statement 16.07.2026

VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS FINALLY FEEL ‘LISTENED TO’ AND ‘BELIEVED’. THEY NOW LOOK FORWARD TO A COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION BEING APPROVED BY GOVERNMENT


Victims and survivors finally feel they were ‘listened to’ and ‘believed’ in the Scoping Exercise report published today by the Minister for Health into the abuse they suffered by Michael Shine, former surgeon in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.


Senior Counsil Lorcan Staines submitted his report after consulting with over 75 victims, as well as using extensive research and material provided by Dignity4Patients to Minister for Health, Jennifer Caroll MacNeill and it was approved by Government on last Tuesday. Victims and survivors have been considering the report prior to publication.


Adriene Reilly CEO said:


“Everyone at Dignity4Patients is very pleased that this has happened today. It is a historic moment. Finally there is something on the record going towards full vindication of all the victims and survivors of convicted sexual offender Michael Shine.


“Many have waited for this moment for over thirty years. Many living in silence much longer.


“When whistleblower nurse Bernadette Sullivan put her neck on the line back in 1994 by reporting the mishandling of the first complaint, she was threatened, her career was threatened, she was told she would lose her home. It was horrific. All because she was someone in the medical profession who did not want little children and young people sexually abused in her workplace, where they were accessing health care, or as we would say ‘there to be minded’. Think about that.


“The response from victims has been overwhelmingly positive.”


“One response has been that “It’s a historic day for the victims of Michael Shine but just one milestone of many more to come.”


Larry Torris one of the victims who went public in 2024 said on reading the report that he was “not really shocked about the time it took, even though it was short, he was more shocked in the fact that it’s here and it’s real and that it is going to be published.”


“Another told Dignithy4Patients ‘It makes for very upsetting reading, being referred to as a victim”.


“And another said “I just finished reading it and am shocked with certain parts. If the government refuses a public inquiry, they will be an utter total disgrace”


“The impact of this in terms of trauma and support requirements cannot be underestimated.


“The victims and survivors and Dignity4Patients look forward to working with the Department going forward in drafting any Terms of Reference for a Commission of Investigation prior to submission to government for approval. We hope this will be later in the year.”


Dignity4Patients and the victims and survivors wish to thank Lorcan Staines SC, Gemma McLoughlin Burke BL and experts Maeve Lewis and Phil Scraton for all their work in making this real. Media Contact and for interviews: Adrienne Reilly- 083 088 6301


Helpline Support: 041 9843730 Monday – Thursday 10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.

Text Support: 086 1654111 Monday –Thursday 10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.

Twitter: @Dignity4patient

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm.

Press Statement in Full- PDF


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