Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
939. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the management of a redress scheme for victims of abuse of an institution (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63147/22]
View answerThere are no plans to establish a redress scheme in relation to the organisation referred to by the Deputy. It is important to note that this organisation is a voluntary body, governed by its own Board. It receives some of its funding from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and raises other funding through member subscriptions and fund raising.
When very serious issues involving former safeguarding and governance practices in the organisation emerged in early 2018, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, as a provider of substantial grant funding to the organisation, took a number of steps to satisfy itself in relation to current safeguarding and governance within the organisation:
- Funding to the organisation was suspended pending the appointment of a new Board, which is now in place
- In 2018, the Government commissioned an independent review of governance within the organisation, as well as a follow up review, published in May 2020. The latter found that the recommendations of the 2018 review had been satisfactorily implemented, while identifying a small number of outstanding matters to be addressed in a subsequent report by the organisation to the Department, which was delivered in September 2020.
- The Department required ongoing reports from the organisation in relation to the process of governance reform.
In addition, the organisation in question commissioned its own independent learning review of historical sexual abuse within the organisation. The then Minister met with this reviewer in May 2020 and was reassured, notwithstanding the reviewer’s very serious findings in relation to historical practices, by his satisfaction with current governance and safeguarding practice within the organisation.
These independent reviews indicate that safeguarding is now a strong focus and priority for the organisation and that robust safeguarding and governance structures have been put in place. In revising its safeguarding policies, the organisation has worked closely with Tusla, which has indicated to the funding Department its satisfaction with the revised procedures in place.
