A scoping exercise into Michael Shine, a convicted sex offender and former consultant at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Ireland, is expected to take up to 16 weeks. Shine, described by the Irish parliament (Dáil) as Europe’s most prolific paedophile, has multiple convictions for sexual offences, including assaults on seven boys between 1971 and 1992. The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, announced the exercise following a meeting with the charity Dignity4Patients, which supports over 390 survivors. She emphasized the need for a compassionate and trauma-informed approach to the inquiry, which aims to honor the voices of victims and survivors. Sinn Féin Louth TD Joanna Byrne has called for a public inquiry to fully uncover the details of Shine's crimes and the institutional failures that allowed his abuse to continue for decades. Reports indicate that allegations against Shine date back to 1964, raising questions about the hospital's response to these claims. The inquiry seeks to bring accountability and healing to the many affected by Shine's actions.