The Government plans to amend new legislation to make it easier for past victims of child sex abuse to sue for damages. But victims of physical abuse will be excluded from this change.
The Dail will today begin to debate a Labour Party measure, which the Government has accepted in principle, to amend the Statute of Limitations Act to allow victims of abuse perpetrated more than three years ago to take legal actions.
The acceptance by the Government of an Opposition Bill is an unusual occurrence. The Bill was first published by Labour in 1998, and its acceptance reflects the Government's desire to be seen to act quickly and avoid the delay that might be involved if it were to have its own Bill drafted.
However, it emerged last night that the Government intends to amend the Bill to confine its application to victims of childhood sex abuse rather than physical abuse.
Government amendments to restrict the Bill to victims of sexual abuse are understood to have been prepared already and will be proposed when the Bill reaches Committee Stage.
Sources confirmed last night that the Government is to ask the Law Reform Commission to examine whether the Statute of Limitations should be amended further to facilitate victims of physical abuse, or whether other changes would be appropriate.
The Government announced on May 11th, following the RTE States of Fear documentary series on the abuse of children in the care of the State, that it would look at amending the Statute of Limitations. However, the Taoiseach's indication then that non-sexual abuse would be referred to the Law Reform Commission was confirmed last night.
The Statute of Limitations change was among a series of measures announced by the Government on May 11th. The Taoiseach also announced a State-funded counselling service for victims of abuse as well as a Commission to Inquire into Childhood Abuse.
The proposal to change the Statute of Limitations involved a recognition that this legislation was inadequate to deal with the childhood abuse issue. Under current legislation, an action for personal injuries must be started within three years of the injury complained of. The law grants an exception to this rule by stating that the three-year period does not run while the plaintiff was suffering a "disability".
This is generally understood to mean that the plaintiff was under 18, or was of unsound mind. The Labour Bill would add to the definition of "disability" circumstances in which a person was suffering "significant emotional or mental injury" as a result of childhood physical or sexual abuse.
Labour's spokeswoman on equality and law reform, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said last night that she strongly believed physical abuse should be dealt with in the same way as sexual abuse in relation to the Statute of Limitations.
"I do not believe that victims of severe physical attacks, some of them graphically described on television, should have to wait again," she said. "Broken teeth, broken limbs, head injuries are serious assaults and gross abuses of power." She urged the Government to allow the Bill apply to victims of both physical and sexual abuse.
In March the Minister for Education told the Dail that proceedings had been initiated in 145 cases involving allegations of sexual or other physical abuse of children while in institutions which were operated by or on behalf of the State or which were funded from public funds.