The “abhorrent crimes” of Bill Kenneally and significant issues of public concern have been raised in a landmark Commission of Investigation report into the convicted paedophile.Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan published the final report on Tuesday and said he will now “consider its findings.” The head of a Commission of Investigation into complaints against serial Waterford sex abuser Kenneally found there was a serious dereliction of duty by senior Garda officers when they learned Kenneally sexually abused a boy in the late 1980s.Retired High Court judge Michael White also criticised the South Eastern Health Board for failing to follow through on complaints of sexual abuse that could have led to him being caught much sooner.The report also said the Law Reform Commission should be asked to give “urgent consideration” to the issue of whether or not there should be a new offence of “serious dereliction of duty by a public official which falls short of deliberate perversion of the course of justice.”The report of the South East Commission of Investigation was prepared by retired High Court judge Michael White on foot of his inquiry into the allegations regarding the responses by various State agencies and others into reports of sexual abuse by the former basketball coach and Fianna Fáil tallyman.Kenneally pleaded guilty in late 2015 and again in 2022 to multiple cases of child sex abuse in Waterford. A member of a well-known Fianna Fáil family, Kenneally is in jail for the abuse of 15 children between 1979 and 1990.O’Callaghan received the final report on Monday, and told Government colleagues at a Cabinet meeting that he intended to publish it on Tuesday. The publication was also shared with victims. “I want to acknowledge the bravery of the victims of Bill Kenneally and thank them for their perseverance and strength in seeking truth and accountability. The report I am publishing today was given yesterday to those victims who are in contact with my department via their legal representatives. I hope they and the other victims of the abhorrent crimes of Bill Kenneally will find the report to be a detailed and thorough assessment of the significant issues of public concern that arose in relation to his crimes,” O’Callaghan said.“The work of the Commission of Investigation was complex, and I want to thank Judge White, his team and Judge Hickson for bringing this to completion and for the comprehensiveness of the investigation and the detailed recommendations which have been brought forward. “I will now reflect on the findings of the report. It is also important that we allow the victims the time to read and consider its findings.” When Jason Clancy and four other men abused by Kenneally as boys learned he had been questioned by gardaí in 1987 about the abuse of another boy but never prosecuted, they began lobbying for a commission of investigation into who knew what and when.In November 2016, Clancy and the other men presented a detailed dossier to then minister for justice Frances Fitzgerald in support of their call for an inquiry into what gardaí and the local health board knew about Kenneally in the late 1980s.On May 30th, 2017, the then government decided to set up a commission of investigation after seeking legal advice from the attorney general. At that stage, a number of other men had come forward with new criminal complaints against Kenneally.[ Bill Kenneally tells abuse inquiry his crimes would not have been viewed ‘one quarter’ as serious in 1987Opens in new window ]“We are delighted with this news,” Clancy said at the time, “as we have been campaigning for this ever since Bill Kenneally was convicted in February 2016 of abusing us so it’s great it’s finally going to get off the ground and hopefully find out what happened when complaints were made in 1980s.”However, there were concerns and delays as Fitzgerald awaited further legal advice from the attorney general on whether holding a commission might prejudice further criminal proceedings against Kenneally. In January 2018, Fitzgerald’s successor as justice minister, Charlie Flanagan, reassured the first group of victims that the government remained committed to holding a commission of investigation once “the outstanding legal issues are finalised”.Later that year, on May 30th, Flanagan confirmed that the cabinet had approved the appointment of retired circuit court judge Barry Hickson to head the commission.The terms of reference said the commission, which began its work under Hickson in November 2018, was to “establish the full extent of complaints or allegations of sexual abuse against Bill Kenneally made to An Garda Síochána between 1985 and 1992 inclusive”.If any information was to emerge of further sexual abuse by Kenneally before or after these dates, separate to later complaints by Clancy and others that led to the 2016 criminal prosecution, the commission was also to examine those.It was also to examine whether Kenneally was formally cautioned in 1987 after gardaí learned he had sexually abused a minor and whether he was formally or informally questioned by gardaí and whether these actions were an adequate response to the allegations made against him.The commission was also to examine whether gardaí notified the South Eastern Health Board or Basketball Ireland, as Kenneally had served as a basketball coach with a local club, of the allegations against him in 1987 and if not, why not.It was also charged with examining, if applicable, whether the health board and the basketball body took any action after receiving information from gardaí and, if either did so, whether that action was adequate. The commission was also tasked with looking at whether Kenneally’s uncle, Mons John Shine, or other members of the clergy in Waterford knew of the offences committed and whether any clergy made contact with gardaí.Similarly, it was also charged with establishing whether any political figure or public official knew about the offences and whether there was any contact between gardaí and those political figures - if there was, the commission was to find out the nature, purpose and appropriateness of the contact.In June 2021, then minister for justice Heather Humphreys announced that Hickson was stepping down as head of the commission for family reasons to be replaced by White.White held the first public hearing of witnesses on September 11th, 2023.The commission heard from about 90 witnesses in both public and private hearings over the next 10 months, concluding in May 2024.White submitted his report, which runs to more than 400 pages, to O’Callaghan in March.