The chairman of the UK branch of Survivors of Child Abuse, Mr Mick Waters, has criticised the negative reaction of child abuse survivors in Ireland to the announcement that the religious orders are to contribute €128 million to the State's redress scheme for victims.
He was particularly critical of Mr John Kelly of SOCA, Ireland, and Ms Christine Buckley, a former resident at the Goldenbridge orphanage in Dublin.
"To slam it like that is disgraceful", he said. "It seems to be be a trait in people over there to go off at the other end like that. We said all along that all we wanted was someone to listen. It was never about money. But has it got to the stage where we (survivors) now won't shake the hand held out to us?" he asked.
He described the orders' contribution as "a massive chunk of property and money". It was " a marvellous step forward towards healing and reconciliation and showed the CORI (Conference of Religious of Ireland) is very, very sincere in what it is doing."
Survivors who had attacked CORI's contribution to the redress scheme were "very angry people. Nothing will ever please them", he said.
He also criticised what he described as "bullying tactics" and the effect of this on damaged survivors who needed healing. To advise people not to co-operate with the redress scheme was "absolutely shocking", he said.
He said the report of the Government-appointed redress committee, published yesterday, was "absolutely excellent".
Mr Waters founded SOCA (UK), precursor to SOCA (Ireland), which grew out of the Artane Old Boys' group which he founded in 1965. It has 1,700 members including 500 relatives of victims.
Mrs Patricia McDonnell, of the Magdalen Memorial Committee, criticised the lack of such a redress scheme for the women who had worked in Magdalen laundries. Her sister-in-law worked for 20 years in such a laundry at the then Mercy convent in Dún Laoghaire in Co Dublin, until removed by her family in 1960.
"I was horrified at her condition. She was painfully thin. It took her family a year to find her," she said.
She thought it "disgraceful" that these women were not included in the scheme. "Most were young girls when they started in the laundries. My sister-in-law started when she was 16. Some 13- and 14-year-olds were sent to the laundry as punishment, and then left there. And at the time the age of majority was 21," she said.
