The Christian Brothers congregation issued a statement yesterday correcting figures presented to the investigation committee of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse last week.
It said the congregation had established from its records that during the period 1935-1969 a total of 205 Brothers served at Artane industrial school in Dublin. It had also established and reported to the commission that over the same period, "of that 205, five members of the congregation sexually abused boys in Artane and six abused boys elsewhere", it said.
It pointed out that in questioning Brigid McManus, secretary general at the Department of Education on June 13th last, senior counsel Mark Connaughton said, while admitting he might be slightly out on the numbers, that up to 13 Brothers at Artane out of a total of no more than 113 "or thereabouts" who had served there, had been involved in sexual abuse.
Yesterday's statement from the Christian Brothers continued: "Mr Connaughton's figures were subsequently reported in the press and commented on following a reconstruction of the relevant section of the transcript of the commission on Tonight with Vincent Browne on RTÉ Radio 1 on Monday, June 19th, 2006."
While not blaming the media, the statement continued that "references to proportions and percentages of abusers on the radio programme were also inaccurate".
