Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
232. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to ensure reparations for victims of child sexual abuse for the abuse they suffered in day schools (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4190/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe State Claims Agency (SCA) is mandated to manage school child sexual abuse litigation being taken against the State. In December 2014, the Government authorised the SCA to offer “out of court” settlements to persons taking cases of school child sexual abuse against the State where their cases come within the terms of the ECHR judgment in the O’Keeffe case and are not statute barred.
In July 2015, the Government agreed that it would respond to those who instituted legal proceedings in relation to school child sexual abuse but had discontinued their cases by offering ex gratia payments. It was decided that such payments would be offered to those persons whose cases were not statute barred prior to their proceedings being discontinued and where the person can demonstrate that their circumstances involved sexual abuse of a school child by a primary or post-primary school employee in respect of whom there was a prior complaint of sexual abuse to a school authority (including an authority of a school in which the employee had previously worked) prior to the issue of the Department of Education guidelines to primary and post-primary schools in 1991 and 1992 respectively.
It its implementation of the European Court of Human Rights judgement in the case referred to by the Deputy, the State has to file bi-annual action plans with the CoE. These action plans show the measures that have been taken to strengthen child protection across different agencies/Departments. These action plans can be accessed on the Department's website at
https://www.education.ie/en/Learners/Information/Former-Residents-of-Industrial-Schools/ECHR-OKeeffe-v-Ireland/.
