Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 October 2023
35. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Justice if her Department has cooperated with investigations into historical allegations of abuse in an organisation (details supplied) and alleged cross over with probation service employees. [43965/23]
View answer38. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Justice her plans to address historical allegations of abuse in the Probation Service by a deceased individual and whether an investigation to determine whether abuse was more widespread or should have been detected will take place. [43963/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 35 and 38 together.
The Deputy will be aware from previous responses, that records indicate two allegations of child sexual abuse have been made in relation to the Probation Service. Both relate to alleged incidents in the 1970s by a former staff member who is now deceased.
As previously advised, I am informed that when the first allegation came to the attention of the Probation Service, An Garda Síochána and relevant services were notified and a criminal investigation was initiated. The Probation Service later became aware of a second allegation against the same former staff member, who by that time was deceased. This matter is the subject of a legal claim which is being managed by the State Claims Agency on behalf of my Department. As I am sure the Deputy will appreciate I am not in a position to comment further as the matter is ongoing.
I can inform the Deputy that there are no plans to commission an investigation into historical allegations of abuse in the Probation Service.
I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of any kind of sexual assault to reach out for help and support and to report the matter to An Garda Síochána. There are specialist Garda members in every Garda Division, trained to ensure that any victim presenting to Gardaí are met with a consistently high standard of specialist, sensitive, professional and expert assistance.
There are also a range of victim support services available and many are listed on the Victims Charter website at www.victimscharter.ie. Rape crisis centres throughout the country also offer advice and support services to victims of rape and sexual assault and operate a national 24-hour helpline which can be contacted at 1800 77 88 88. The HSE also have a National Counselling Service - www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/national-counselling-service/.
