Vol. 541 No. 4
117 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will set up a separate compensation scheme for those victims of abuse in day schools who are excluded under the provisions of the Residential Institutions Redress Bill. [22987/01]
The Residential Institutions Redress Bill is part of the Government's overall strategy of addressing in a meaningful way widespread public concern about abuse of children while they were in institutional care, in particular, in orphanages, industrial schools and reformatory schools. The institutions concerned were those over which the State had significant supervisory or regulatory responsibilities, mainly arising under statute. While in a legal sense the Government cannot accept liability for acts of abuse in the institutions, there nevertheless remains the fact that some children did suffer abuse while in State care. Apart from these considerations there is also the fact that the children concerned were separated from their parents and, therefore, did not enjoy the care and protection which children in the care of their parents normally enjoy. They relied to a significant extent on public bodies to protect them and it is now all too clear that notwithstanding that duty some children were abused.
The payment of public moneys as financial redress for abuse suffered in such cases is, therefore, appropriate. These considerations do not apply to day schools where public bodies did not have the kind of supervisory functions, powers or duties which applied in the residential institutions and the children themselves were resident with their families.
People, who as children suffered sexual abuse in schools, have other remedies. Amendments to the Statutes of Limitation recognise that a person who suffered sexual abuse in childhood may not have been in a position, due to the abuse suffered, to take legal action against the abuser. Normally, a person would only have three years from the date on which he or she attained his or her majority to bring such an action. The statute now provides that the normal period of three years within which a person can bring an action will not apply where the delay in bringing the action resulted from the abuse itself, for example, suppressed memories of abuse.
Following an amendment to the Statutes of Limitation made by this Government, provision was made for a person who suffered sexual abuse and who was advised that their claims were statute barred. To assist such people in bringing a claim, provision was made for a special one year period, from June 2000 to June of this year, to allow such a person to commence actions against his or her abusers. As regards other kinds of abuse and the application of the statute, the Law Reform Commission has published a discussion document on the broader issue of limitation periods in those cases and is considering the issues further.
