Vol. 541 No. 2
1073 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will consider the special case made by those involved in a case (details supplied) and ensure that their case is included in legislation to deal with this issue. [21612/01]
The Government has recently published the Residential Institutions Redress Bill, 2001, to establish a body to make financial awards to those persons who as children were abused in institutions in which they were resident and for which the State had significant regulatory or supervisory responsibility. The special case referred to by the Deputy relates to the alleged infliction of injuries on persons who were in attendance at a day school. The Residential Institutions Redress Bill will not cover those persons who may have been abused while attending day schools.
The Government's decision to provide for this particular type of compensation scheme is based the legal responsibilities of the public bodies concerned and the fact that the children concerned were separated from their parents and therefore did not enjoy the care and protection which children in the care of their parents enjoy. They relied to a significant extent on public bodies to protect them and it is now all too clear that, notwithstanding that duty, children were abused. These considerations do not apply to children who were resident with their families while at school and so the decision to set up the redress board does not extend to them.
The Government has already provided an alternative means of redress for any person who suffered sexual abuse in the past. The amendments to the Statute of Limitations Act recognises that persons who suffered sexual abuse in the past may not have been in a position, due to the abuse suffered, to take legal action against the abuser. Normally a person would only have three years from the date on which he or she attained his or her majority to bring such an action. The Act now provides that the normal period of three years within which a person can bring an action will not apply where a person is suffering from such a disability. The Act also recognises that some persons who suffered sexual abuse may have been previously advised that their claims were statute barred. To assist such persons in bringing a claim, the Act provided for a special one year period, from June 2000 to June of this year, to allow such persons to commence actions against their alleged abusers.
