Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has said the Government needs time to assess the impact of the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in favour of Louise O'Keeffe, which he described as having "significant implications".

In a landmark case, the court this morning ruled that the Irish state failed to meet its obligation to protect Ms O’Keeffe from the sexual abuse she suffered while a pupil in an Irish national school.

Speaking in Dublin this afternoon, Mr Quinn said he is glad Ms O’Keeffe’s fight is over but added the implications of the ruling have yet to be fully digested.

Ms O' Keeffe had brought her case to the European Court after the Irish Supreme court ruled in 2009 that the State was not legally liable for the abuse suffered by her when she was a nine-year old girl at Dunderrow National School.

“First of all this woman has been through a very, very difficult period for many years,” Mr Quinn said. “It has now come to a conclusion. The judgement in Strasbourg runs to 82 pages, we only received it early today.

“It is being digested. There are, it would appear to me, significant implications, the scale and the extent of which I can’t really comment on at this stage because I haven’t been briefed.

“But for her and her family, I am glad this journey is now over and she has a result. We will be looking at the implications of that result in consultation with the Attorney General and in the Department of Education and elsewhere.”

Mr Quinn was also asked if the Government will offer Ms O’Keeffe an apology, but he would only say he sympathises with what she has gone through, while adding he still has to take advice.

“This is a very dark chapter in our past which we will confront,” he said.