My Department, in consultation with other relevant Departments, is at present engaged in drawing up detailed proposals for a compensation scheme for survivors of abuse in childhood with a view to submitting detailed proposals to the Government in the near future. I place a very high priority on bringing forward these proposals, which will address all the key issues, including legal representation for claimants.
The approach of my Department and the Department of Health and Children to the provision of support to survivor support groups is to provide serviced offices rather than direct grants to the groups. A range of services have been in place for some time which provide support for survivors of abuse in the first instance and for groups representing survivors. These include a serviced office in Cork and another in Dublin. Both of these offices offer information in relation to the various Government initiatives for survivors of abuse and public services generally. They also provide, or arrange, for counselling and education services for survivors. Both of the offices provide services for all survivors without reference to their membership of any group.
In addition to these offices, my Department has been involved with a number of support groups for survivors in establishing a second office in Dublin. While playing a similar role to the other already established offices as far as survivors are concerned, this office will have a more national focus, compared to the more regional focus of the existing offices. This office will be operational within the next week and all survivors and support groups will be eligible to use it.
