Cahill allegations have 'serious consequences'

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the allegations made by Maíria Cahill will have serious consequences.

Mr Kenny was speaking in the Dáil after meeting Ms Cahill for 90 minutes at Government Buildings this morning.

Ms Cahill claims she was raped as a teenager in 1997 by a member of the IRA and later interrogated by the organisation.

The Cahill allegations dominated Leaders' Questions in the Dáil.

Mr Kenny said Ms Cahill was a courageous, confident and brave young woman who is a force to be reckoned with.

He said: "Her control was taken from her. She never ceded her own power and it's that power and sense for truth that brought her to Government Buildings this morning."

The Taoiseach said he would facilitate "a comprehensive debate on the matter".

He said he could not confirm if Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald had spoken to Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford, but that it could be taken that she would.

Mr Kenny said it was "reprehensible" that Ms Cahill "could be kicked about deliberately".

He suggested that Sinn Féin Leader Gerry Adams could confirm that Ms Cahill had to meet the IRA about the matter.

Mr Kenny asked if Mr Adams was aware of any people moved to "this jurisdiction" - Donegal or Louth - involved in sexual abuse of women in Northern Ireland and who are still in the Republic of Ireland.

"You might indicate if you know anything about that because the story Maíria Cahill has to tell is not just powerful, but it will have serious consequences," he said.

The Taoiseach said he found it unbelievable Mr Adams would come into the house of parliament and say that the person who abused Ms Cahill was a decent person.

However, Mr Adams said that he had not said that.

Mr Adams said Ms Cahill had made serious allegations and he accused the Government and Fianna Fail of politicising the issue.

He said he rejected "allegations that have been made about me and other Sinn Féin members, who assure me that all they did in engagements and conversations and work with Maíria Cahill was to work with them".

Mr Adams asked the Taoiseach if he would accept the "serious matters" needed to be dealt with by appropriate authorities and not politicised.

He said the IRA had failed the victims of sex offenders and he  wanted to apologise to those victims and said those who wish should come forward and report the situation to the authorities and they would have Sinn Féin's full support in doing so.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the power and fear faced by victims who were abused by IRA members was greater than anywhere else.

Meanwhile, Ms Cahill has said Mr Kenny listened sensitively to her story when she met him this morning.

The meeting came a day after Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions announced an independent review of three cases linked to the alleged rape of Ms Cahill.

Ms Cahill said she felt vindicated that Mr Adams had admitted there was an internal IRA investigation into her allegations of rape.

She described her meeting with the Taoiseach as very useful and said it was exactly how a victim of sexual abuse should be listened to.

She told RTÉ's News At One that it was in stark contrast to the treatment she has had at the hands of Sinn Féin this week.

Ms Cahill said she would like to thank the Taoiseach for his compassion, for listening intently and for agreeing to do something about her situation.

She said there are a number of options open to the Taoiseach.

She also asked him to find extra resources for victims of sexual abuse across the country whether they were treated badly by the republican movement or not.

Ms Cahill said that she hoped that other victims that she had spoken to who had similar experiences to her own would come forward and get help.

She said that she believed she had been defamed Sinn Fein members who had basically called her a liar over the national airwaves and she is consulting her solicitor on the matter.

However, Mr Adams has insisted again that he was not aware of an IRA investigation into her case.

She told reporters after the meeting that Mr Kenny's main concern was her and how she was doing rather than using it as a political issue.

Asked about Sinn Féin disputing that Mr Adams admitted there was an internal investigation into her case, Ms Cahill said he had very clearly said it yesterday.

She said she would only meet Sinn Féin now if it admitted she was telling the truth.

Sinn Féin TD Mac Lochlainn defends Adams

Earlier, Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn defended Mr Adams and other party members embroiled in the controversy.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Mac Lochlainn said he believes Mr Adams is telling the truth.

He said: "I know Gerry Adams a long, long time. I know the man's character. I know he passionately believes in people to speak up. I believe him".

He said Ms Cahill has made "assertions about all sorts of members of Sinn Féin not just Gerry Adams.

"Every single one of those members, not just Gerry Adams, by the way, there is a range of Sinn Féin people who I know and respect and they have testified that they all tried to help her, assist her, put her in the direction of counselling, support and for some reason she chose not to."

Mr Mac Lochlainn also defended the way the Cahill case is being investigated saying "in terms of allegations in the North there is an independent review of the DPP's investigation, a referral to the ombudsman. There's clearly a process under way."

Speaking on the same programme, Mr Ford said the review of cases linked to Ms Cahill's alleged rape must be done thoroughly.

He said people want to have answers as soon as possible.

Mr Ford said: "I said to the Justice Committee yesterday there are two things we want to see. We want to see these reviews done thoroughly and them done speedily and if there is a choice between the two, then thorough has to be what we prefer.

"I think the expectation in this case is that a review will be done in a period of a few months and that is probably realistic.

"But I also need to be careful that the DPP is entirely independent of me as minister, I need to be very careful I don't give the impression I am trying to tell him what to do."

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