A Commission of Investigation is to be established into historical sexual abuses in day and boarding schools run by religious orders, following a strong recommendation from a scoping inquiry into 2,400 allegations of abuse in 308 schools.
Minister for Education Norma Foley confirmed on Tuesday that the Government had agreed to implement the central recommendation of the expert group chaired by Mary O’Toole SC, that conducted the scoping exercise.
Ms Foley said the 700-page report prepared by the group was a “harrowing document” containing some of the most appalling accounts of sexual abuse.
At a press conference in Government Buildings, Ms Foley disclosed the Government had made no commitment on another central recommendation of the scoping inquiry. That was for a redress process to be established for survivors of abuse in the 308 schools covered by the inquiry, that included day and boarding schools – as well as special schools – run by religious orders.
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“Issues like redress are very much part of the recommendations and they will be looked at,” she said.
Speaking about another important recommendation of the report, Ms Foley said several times that the Government was “open” to the remit of the commission being extended from the religious-run schools to all 760 post-primary schools in the State.
The expert group that carried out the inquiry had concluded that confining the scope to schools run by religious orders of the Catholic Church was unduly narrow.
Ms Foley agreed that the number of allegations would increase once the commission was established.
That issue was discussed by Ministers at the Cabinet meeting that approved the commission and while it was considered too early to say how many allegations would be made, data from the Central Statistics Office indicated that, historically, more than 30,000 people have experienced abuse in schools.
No decision has been taken on who will chair the inquiry but the Government is likely to choose a judge or a retired judge.
If a redress scheme is approved, religious orders will be expected to contribute to the costs.
Ms Foley said it was clear from the report that survivors want “accountability” with a Commission of Investigation being the most appropriate means of achieving that.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, Taoiseach Simon Harris said the Government’s response to the report into sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders would be “survivor centred”.
The scoping report was a “harrowing read”, Mr Harris said. “It is a shadow of our past that continues to loom large in so many lives, so many families, so many communities,” he said.
It was crucial that the setting up of a full statutory inquiry to further investigate the abuse was done correctly, he said.
“It is really important that we get this Commission [of Investigation] right. It is really important that we get the terms of reference right and it is really important that we get the structure right and that the next steps we take are absolutely survivor-centred,” he said.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin meanwhile praised Ms O’Toole and child protection expert Kieran McGrath for their report, adding: “The level and scale of the horrific abuse within schools revealed in the report’s pages is shocking, and there must be full accountability and justice for those abused.”
The commission will have powers to compel witnesses and documents, and will have the option of hearing evidence in private for survivors who do not wish to speak publicly about their experiences.
The majority view of the 149 survivors who engaged extensively with the scoping inquiry was that a “highly adversarial process” (such as a Tribunal of Inquiry) would not be appropriate to examine the issue of sexual abuse.
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