Eighteen men, including 11 Brothers of Charity, were investigated in connection with allegations of the sexual abuse of 21 intellectually disabled children in Galway, according to a report published yesterday.
It followed an eight-year inquiry into allegations of abuse at Brothers of Charity services in Galway during a 33-year period from 1965 to 1998.
A press briefing on the report in Galway yesterday was told that attempts by management to protect a brother subsequently convicted of abuse by transferring him from one location to another, applied to him only.
The allegations investigated were described as "shocking" by Dr Kevin McCoy, retired chief inspector of Northern Ireland Social Services, who finalised the report. Children as young as eight suffered abuse ranging from minor incidents to rape.
All information gathered in the inquiry had been referred to the Garda, but there is no "ongoing" Garda investigation, following two convictions.
Dr McCoy recommended a fundamental review of all "campus-style" residences for people with disabilities. He said the transfer of some 3,000 people in such facilities to community and family-based settings should be considered, with adequate resources, and a regular review should take place at the "highest level" of child protection arrangements by both the HSE and the Garda.
He advised that a more "multi-dimensional" framework be applied to contractual arrangements between the HSE and agencies serving people with disabilities. The inquiry, which was initiated by the former western health board in 1999, was non-statutory. The accused included 11 religious brothers, four lay staff and three past service users. They were associated with the Holy Family School, the Woodlands residential centre in Galway, and the Kilcornan residential centre in Clarinbridge.
The Woodlands centre was closed in 1984, and residents at Kilcornan are being relocated to more appropriate accommodation in the community - with a target date for complete closure in Clarinbridge by 2009.
Dr McCoy's report confirmed that two alleged abusers had been convicted, eight were dead and the rest were no longer involved in providing services to vulnerable clients with the Brothers of Charity or using their services.
A majority of complainants said they did not report alleged abuse at the time as there was "no one who would listen", the report said.
At a briefing by HSE West in Galway yesterday, Laverne McGuinness, national director for primary, community and continuing care, acknowledged "the courage and strength of those who came forward" to the inquiry team, and said she wished to apologise sincerely to victims and their families for the delay in completing the report.
Pressed about this delay by Fiona Neary, Rape Crisis Network Ireland executive director, Ms McGuinness said that there was "no delay in forwarding files to the Garda Síochána" when interviews ended in 2000.
A number of factors had contributed to an "unaccountable delay" in compiling the subsequent report, Ms McGuinness said. These included the fact that it was an "unsworn" inquiry, spanning 33 years, with legal implications. Resources were put in place when the HSE was established in 2005, she said, and Dr McCoy had been asked to assist Dr Elizabeth Healy, the original chairwoman, in May 2004.
The HSE has set up helplines for people affected by publication of the report, at 1800 234 114 and 1800 235 235 (after hours).