Geraldine Fitzgerald Thompson has said she will appeal to the DPP against his decision not to proceed with a criminal case against her parents for neglect and abuse.
Ms Fitzgerald Thompson (27) is the sister of Kelly Fitzgerald, who died of blood poisoning in a London hospital in 1993 aged 15. Her parents, Desmond and Susan Fitzgerald, were convicted of her wilful neglect in 1994 and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Ms Fitzgerald Thompson was told by gardaí last Thursday that the DPP would not pursue a prosecution against her parents arising from a complaint she made two years ago in relation to the neglect and abuse she alleges she suffered as a child.
Now living in the west of Ireland, Ms Fitzgerald Thompson said her ordeal began at the age of five when she and her family lived in London and continued after they moved to Mayo when she was nine.
"I was treated worse than an animal," Ms Fitzgerald Thompson told The Irish Timesyesterday. The physical abuse did not stop until her sister's death, when she, another sister and two brothers were taken into care. However, her parents continued to abuse her psychologically, she said.
She had made a complaint against her parents to gardaí in 1996 , but withdrew it after pressure from relatives. Ms Fitzgerald Thompson said last night that she was still in shock that her later complaint had been rejected.
"I had been waiting my whole life to have the strength to do this. Part of me is still in denial. It's hard to believe it has turned out this way."
Ms Fitzgerald Thompson said she would appeal the DPP's decision. "I don't know what else I can do. I will try to get the DPP to change the decision."
A spokeswoman for the office of the DPP said yesterday it did not comment on individual cases. Although the DPP's reason is not known, child advocacy and protection organisation Barnardos said that the passage of time should not be considered in pursuing cases of severe neglect.
