Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 1 Jul 2003

Vol. 570 No. 2

Written Answers. - Residential Institutions Redress Board.

Mary Upton

Ceist:

302 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the criteria for deciding to include institutions on the schedule to the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002; the reason for making provision in the Act for compensation for abuse suffered by way of child pornography; the reason for including probation hostels in the schedule; the number of complaints relating to probation hostels which were on the list of cases for the Cabinet sub-committee in 1998-99; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18645/03]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey):

The Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 was introduced to provide financial redress to people who as children suffered abuse in residential institutions for which public bodies had certain responsibilities in relation to their inspection and regulation. Section 4(1) of the Act outlines the criteria to be used in making a decision to include additional institutions, including probation hostels. This section provides for the insertion of, by order, any industrial school, reformatory school, orphanage, children's home, special school which was established for the purpose of providing education services to children with a physical or intellectual disability or a hospital providing medical or psychiatric services to people with a physical or mental illness in which children were placed and resident and in respect of which a public body had a regulatory or inspection function.

There is no specific provision in the Act for the compensation for abuse suffered by way of child pornography. However, section 1.1(b) of the Act includes a definition of abuse which could encompass the exploitation of children for the purposes of child pornography. Legislation addressing the specific issue of child pornography is contained in the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998. I am not aware of a list of complaints in relation to probation hostels having been presented to the Cabinet sub-committee in 1998-99.