Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2017
162. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will change the terms under which the State Claims Agency is allowed to make ex gratia payments to the victims of school child sexual abuse, in view of the fact that these terms will preclude the majority of such victims from claiming any compensation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3765/17]
View answerThe State Claims Agency (SCA) manages school child sexual abuse litigation being taken against the State. In December 2014, the Government authorised the SCA to offer “out of court” settlements to persons taking cases of school child sexual abuse against the State where their cases come within the terms of the ECtHR judgment in the Louise O'Keeffe case and are not statute barred.
In July 2015, the Government agreed that it would respond to those who instituted legal proceedings in relation to school child sexual abuse but had discontinued their cases by offering ex gratia payments. It was decided that such payments would be offered to those persons whose cases were not statute barred prior to their proceedings being discontinued and where the person can demonstrate that their circumstances involved sexual abuse of a school child by a primary or post-primary school employee in respect of whom there was a prior complaint of sexual abuse to a school authority (including an authority of a school in which the employee had previously worked) prior to the issue of the Department of Education guidelines to primary and post-primary schools in 1991 and 1992 respectively.
For the purposes of the settlement of litigation and the Government’s ex gratia scheme, there is no strict interpretation as to what constitutes a “prior complaint.” The State must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that there was a prior complaint but the State does not insist on a strict evidential standard in assessing the material put forward by an applicant. A holistic analysis of the case is undertaken and a flexible approach is adopted.
In assessing whether a settlement will be offered or whether an applicant comes within the ex gratia scheme, the State will consider instances of abuse which occurred in both primary and post-primary schools.
In assessing a case or application, the State works on the basis that a prior complaint includes not only complaints made to teachers but also complaints made to any person(s) in authority in a school.
The conditions attached to the ex-Gratia scheme have been agreed by Government and allow for the State Claims Agency to make settlement offers where the claims come within the terms of the ECtHR Judgement and are not statute barred.
I don't consider it necessary to revisit the terms of the scheme.
