Scouting Ireland does not have “unlimited funds” to pay compensation to survivors of historical child sexual abuse, and must ensure the cost of settlements does not bankrupt the youth organisation, a former board member has said.
Dermot Lacey, a Labour Party councillor on Dublin City Council, held national officer positions in the Catholic Boy Scout of Ireland (CBSI) for 15 years until around 2001.
At that point he stepped away from “scout politics”, a few years before the CBSI merged with the Scout Association of Ireland to form Scouting Ireland.
Amid major turmoil facing the organisation, following reporting in The Irish Times into safeguarding and governance controversies, he put himself forward for election to the organisation’s board in late 2018.
Mr Lacey was elected on to the new board charged with following through on a range of promised governance reforms. The day after their election the new directors received a briefing from Ian Elliott, a child protection expert who had been acting as a consultant for Scouting Ireland. Mr Elliott reported that over previous months large numbers of alleged victims of child sex abuse in its predecessor organisations had been coming forward.
[ Redress scheme would end scout abuse survivors’ long fight for compensationOpens in new window ]
[ Scouting Ireland planning a redress scheme for abuse victimsOpens in new window ]
A review by Mr Elliott would conclude in 2020 that more than 350 children had allegedly been sexually abused in the former scouting bodies, with the abuse covered-up for decades.
Speaking after recently finishing his term on the board, Mr Lacey said the scale of the past abuse was horrifying. “I didn’t know there was going to be so many skeletons, never mind them all coming out,” he said.
Mr Lacey said alleged abuse by former chief scout Joe Lawlor, who he had known, was “appalling”.
Lawlor, now deceased, served two terms as CBSI chief scout in the 1980s and 1990s, and has now been accused of molesting multiple children. “I was in the room with these people loads of times,” Mr Lacey said.
Redress scheme
Scouting Ireland has indicated it is planning to set up a redress scheme to pay compensation to survivors of historical abuse, according to recent correspondence from its solicitors to lawyers representing alleged abuse victims.
The youth organisation is currently facing more than 40 legal cases from alleged victims seeking compensation.
Mr Lacey said a “balance” had to be struck between doing right by survivors while also safeguarding the future viability of the organisation. “Scouting Ireland doesn’t have unlimited funds, but we’re not walking away from our responsibilities ... I would like victims to be dealt with fairly” he said.
The board had to “protect the organisation” so that it could continue to survive and grow, “because we believe it is good for young people,” he said. While the abuse was wrong, thousands of people had good memories of their time in the scouts as children, he said.
Mr Lacey joined Donnybrook scout group, South Dublin, when he was seven-years-old. “Our house had a back garden gate into the grounds of the scout hall, so I was never not going to join the scouts,” he said.
He believes the organisation provides huge value to young people, helping them to think for themselves and learn how to take responsibility.
Progress
Mr Lacey said the board made “an awful lot” of progress improving governance and safeguarding standards during his four year tenure. “The new board were faced with a whole range of challenges which I think have largely been met,” he said.
Mr Lacey was critical of the former minister for children Katherine Zappone and Tusla, the child and family agency.
In particular the Labour councillor took issue with comments Ms Zappone made in the Dáil as minister, where she stated parents should think twice about letting children attend overnight scout camping trips.
“That’s like saying to a football club, ‘you shouldn’t play football’. It was deeply hurtful to a lot of [scout] leaders who were trying to do their best,” he said.
Mr Lacey said he did not have “a very high regard for Tusla”, which also questioned safeguarding standards in Scouting Ireland.
“My experience of Tusla is an organisation that ticks a lot of boxes, but some of those boxes don’t include common sense,” he said. The agency did not have enough understanding of the voluntary youth work sector, he said.
Despite the criticism and the controversies, parents had trusted scout leaders by not pulling their children out from local groups, he said. “Parents I think showed great faith and I think that was very heartening for scout leaders in difficult times,” he said.
