Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2015
514. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the actions she has taken following the meeting she had with a person (details supplied) and other victims of sexual abuse in December 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24497/15]
View answerThe Government agreed that out of court settlements be offered in those cases of school child sexual abuse being brought against the State where the cases come within the terms of the ECHR judgment and satisfy the Statute of Limitations. The State Claims Agency is engaging with plaintiffs' solicitors to clarify the position in cases and to make settlement offers where appropriate. In pursuing settlements, the State Claims Agency will be considering cases of school child sexual abuse where there was a prior complaint about the relevant teacher's sexual abuse to school authorities. The rationale for this approach is that these were the circumstances on which the European Court of Human Rights judgment was based.The position in relation to those cases that were not progressed for a number of reasons, including those which might have been discontinued after receiving letters from the State Claims Agency is that I asked the Agency to undertake a review to clarify the exact position as to whether the cases had been formally discontinued or not. The Agency has completed its review and my Department sought some clarification from the Agency. I expect to be in a position to report to Government on this matter shortly at which time the Government will consider whether any measures will be taken in relation to these cases. There are a significant number of additional cases in which the State has either been joined as a party or notified of the intention to seek to join the State. The State Claims Agency will be engaging with the Plaintiffs' solicitors involved in each of these cases having regard to the facts in each individual case.As the Deputy may be aware, the Government initiated a review of current and planned child protection mechanisms in the school system to assess the extent to which issues identified in the ECHR Judgment have been addressed in the period since 1973. This review is being undertaken by a specially tasked Sub-Committee within the Children First Inter-Departmental Implementation Group which is considering current and planned legislative and administrative child protection measures in the education sector. It is expected that its report will be submitted to Government in the near future.
