Relaxation of abuse inquiry rules criticised

Representatives of former residents of religious and State-run institutions have given a mixed reaction to a decision by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse to relax its rules on the interviewing of witnesses.

In a statement yesterday the commission said all 1,300 people who had applied to have their cases heard before its investigative committee would be invited for interview. However, only a selection of these cases would go forward to full hearings.

Mr Colm O'Gorman, founder of the victims' representative group, One in Four, said it was a "positive and welcome" development.

While victims were not getting what was initially promised to them, "it is significant that everyone will be heard in some context by the investigative committee," he said.

However, Ms Christine Buckley, of the Aislinn centre in Dublin, said the commission was still engaging in a form of "sampling", as not everyone was going to have the opportunity of meeting either their alleged abuser or their abuser's superior.

She said the commission had now to explain how it would decide which cases would go forward to full hearings.

"How many people from each school will they be selecting? We don't know," she remarked.

Under revised rules published last January, the commission said it would allow just a sample of cases to go before its investigative committee in an effort to reduce legal costs and the time needed to complete its work.

However, this met with strong opposition from victims' representative groups, some of whom threatened to boycott the inquiry.

In its statement yesterday, the investigative committee, which is chaired by Mr Justice Seán Ryan, said all applicants would be interviewed by its legal team.

"The detailed information obtained in these interviews will be collected in databases and produced in report format which will then be distributed as appropriate to relevant bodies for comment and discussion," the statement said.

"If there are material areas of dispute, the committee will arrange for further investigation, including full hearings if appropriate, held in public where possible."

The committee also named the next institutions to be investigated this year. These include three of the most controversial institutions in the inquiry: St Vincent's Industrial School, Goldenbridge; St Joseph's Industrial School, Kilkenny; and Artane Industrial School.

The other institutions to be investigated this year are Our Lady of Succour, Newtownforbes; St Patrick's Industrial School, Kilkenny; St. Conleth's Reformatory School, Daingean; and St Joseph's Industrial School, Letterfrack.