Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 23 Oct 2003

Vol. 573 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Child Abuse.

It is now four and a half years since the Taoiseach made his apology on behalf of the people to the victims of institutional abuse. He said the State would act to redress the matter and provide compensation. The Residential Institutions Redress Bill was introduced approximately three years later, in April 2002, and a further eight months elapsed before the Residential Institutions Redress Board was established, at the end of December 2002.

I dealt with the Bill in the Seanad on behalf of the Labour Party. I asked the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, about the position of various institutions not included in the schedule of institutions which at the time comprised in excess of 100. He said it was incomplete but that the legislation allowed for ministerial order to extend the number, and that this would be done. When I raised the name of one or two institutions, one of which – Bethany House – I have been pursuing since, I was given the impression it would be done quickly. I took the matter up with the Minister and the departmental civil servants dealing with him at the time.

Bethany House is a Protestant institution but Protestant institutions are not covered by the Residential Institutions Redress Board as they are not included in the schedule of institutions. A number of other institutions were also omitted. When I raised this matter with the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Dempsey, this time a year ago, he replied that as the schedule was not exhaustive, institutions could be included as they were identified and that Bethany House was one of a number of homes being considered in that regard. In response to a further question I put to him on 18 February the Minister replied: "It is my intention that a draft order will be prepared and brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the near future." That was some time ago so I do not know how the Minister determines what is the near future. I am very concerned that there has been no amendment, that it is four and a half years since the apology was made and the commitment given, that the legislation has been tortuously slow in getting up and running and the board being established and that there are whole categories of people in other institutions who cannot, even at this point, apply to the board because they are not included in the schedule. Unless one happens to have been in an institution included in the schedule, one is forbidden from applying for compensation to the Residential Institutions Redress Board.

Many of the people involved are quite elderly. Obviously between now and when the apology was made four and a half years ago, countless numbers of people who might have gone to the board for some form of redress have died and others will die before they get any compensation from the State. It is not good enough that we should put off the extension of the number of institutions included in the present schedule. I ask the Minister to accept what his predecessor said, that is, that the schedule was incomplete and there are other institutions which need to be added to the list. Many people are under stress waiting for that to take place and have not been able to get any comfort from the Department of Education and Science. It would be a small matter for the Department to introduce a ministerial order but it would be a very big step for many people who have suffered.

I urge the Minister to fulfil his commitment and issue that order as quickly as possible.

I am pleased to reply to the Deputy on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science. I wish to outline to the House the current position regarding the inclusion of additional institutions on the schedule of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002.

The Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 was signed into law by the President on 10 April 2002. The Act provided for the establishment of both the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee. Both the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee have been put in place and are fully operational.

Judge Sean O'Leary, a judge of the Circuit Court, has been appointed chairperson of the redress board and six other members have also been appointed. The review committee is chaired by Mr. Justice Frank Murphy, a former Supreme Court judge and two other members have also been appointed. A total of 27 administrative staff have been appointed to the redress board and the review committee.

The latest information available to the Department of Education and Science indicates that the redress board has received approximately 2,000 applications to date and has made awards or settlements in approximately 200 cases. The Minister for Education and Science understands that the average award to date has been €80,700 and that awards including interim awards have varied between €10,000 and €250,000. The board continues to receive approximately 50 applications per week.

The purpose of the Act is to set up a framework to enable victims of institutional abuse to apply for redress. The awards are being made in line with the recommendations of the Ryan report, chaired by the then senior counsel, Mr. Seán Ryan. These are equivalent to the level of awards made by the High Court. The Ryan report specifically did not discount the awards to be made by the redress board, even though there is no need to prove liability before the board and the process is far less adversarial.

An applicant is expected to provide proof of his or her identity, that he or she was resident in an institution, that he or she was injured while so resident and that the injury is consistent with any allegation of abuse alleged to have occurred while so resident. An applicant may accept or reject an award made to him or her or may submit the award for review to the review committee.

In framing the legislation the Government was conscious that it was putting in place structures to provide redress for victims of abuse and to bring closure to this tragic period of Irish history that spanned almost six decades. At present 128 institutions are listed in the schedule to the Act. Section 4 of the Act enables additional institutions identified as reformatory, industrial, orphanages, children's homes and special schools in respect of which a public body had a regulatory or inspection function to be added to the schedule.

The Department of Education and Science has received correspondence from both individuals and survivor groups identifying a number of additional institutions that may be eligible for inclusion in the schedule. Discussions have taken place between the Department of Education and Science and other Departments that provided a regulatory function in the operation of these facilities in order to ascertain whether these institutions were, in fact, eligible for inclusion. The initial information received in some cases was scant due to the long period that had elapsed since the institutions were closed, therefore the process of verifying each of these institutions had been time consuming.

The institutions being considered at present include some institutions which were managed by the Protestant community. It is the intention of the Minister for Education and Science that a list of additional institutions will be brought before both Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as the verification process is completed.

Barr
Roinn