A report on allegations of abuse at schools run by religious orders was published on Tuesday. The key findings of the report are that:
- 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse at the 308 schools run by religious orders have been disclosed to the Government-appointed inquiry
- The allegations were made against 884 alleged abusers, the report found
- It is likely that the actual number of allegations likely exceeds the stated figure given the level of underreporting of childhood sexual abuse
- The report found that a high number of allegations are concentrated in special education schools, where there were 590 allegations recorded in 17 institutions involving 190 alleged abusers
In the wake of the report’s publication, the Government has agreed to establish a statutory inquiry into historical abuse at schools.
The press conference has now concluded. The report will be published shortly.
The Minister has said the Government would be " open” to extending the scope of the Commission of Investigation to all post-primary schools, which total around 760.
Returning to her own response to reading the personal accounts, she said she could only imagine the horror and trauma that they encountered. “There are many people in education who will be shocked and horrified by what they have seen and read. The testimonies from the survivors themselves are horrendously difficult to read,” she said.
Ms Foley has said that it is “nothing short of horrific” in relation to the details of what has happened in special schools. She said that a small number of students from those schools came forward as part of that inquiry. She said former students of those schools would be “facilitated in whatever capacity that we have” to come forward and give evidence.
On allegations on high level of abuse at special schools, Ms Foley said she was appalled and horrified to hear of the high number of allegations, reports Harry McGee. “We have our most vulnerable children in our special schools ... I am more than 30 years involved in education and I am heartbroken.”
Asked has Cabinet made a decision yet on redress scheme, she says that Government had taken the first and important step in relation to a Commission of Investigation. She said it had worked with great speed given she had received the final report as late as late June.
“Issues like redress are very much part of the recommendations and they will be looked at.” She also said the Government was open to considering all recommendations including extending the scheme to all schools.
Ms Foley again says that all recommendations from the report will be looked at, including the possibility of a redress scheme.
“The survivors were very clear that they have lived with the experience all of the lives,” she says. “It was a destructive influence on their relationships ... it’s quite horrific, the long term impact that this has had on people’s lives.”
For this reason, there is a duty on everyone involved to play their part in expediting the process, she said.
The report’s recommendation on redress to be looked at as well as everything else, says Ms Foley.
Ms Foley become emotional towards the end of her address, as she pays tribute to the late Mark Ryan, who she said was instrumental in the establishing the scoping inquiry.
She says that “uppermost” in her thought today are the survivors of historic abuse in schools.
Political Correspondent Harry McGee is reporting from a press conference with the Minister for Education.
Speaking at the press conference, Ms Foley said that the level of abuse was shocking. “It is truly shocking and so is the number of alleged abusers. There were 884 alleged abusers in schools of 42 religious orders.”
“It is clear from the report that survivors want accountability,” she says signalling that a Commission of Investigation was the appropriate vehicle to fulfil that desire.
Minister for Education Norma Foley has formally announced a Commission of Investigation into sexual abuse at schools, following recommendations from the report.
Ms Foley on Tuesday afternoon called the report a “harrowing document” with “appalling” accounts of sexual abuse.
“The scale and horror of what people described in their interviews with the scoping inquiry is shocking, and the lasting impact on the lives of those survivors cannot be overstated. I have been deeply moved by the courage, fortitude and openness of all those who have shared their experiences,” she said.
A statement from the Department of Education released on Tuesday afternoon acknowledged that the report recommended giving considation to a financial redress scheme for survivors, but did not make a commitment to delivering such a scheme.
‘They could not enter a church’: How childhood abuse affected survivors into adulthood
The inquiry report found that, as adults, participants endured serious and ongoing difficulties in relationships, mental and physical health problems, addiction issues, lost career opportunities and damage to their sense of place and community.
“Many described failed early intimate relationships and marriage breakdowns,” the report said.
“Some said that, as a result of the sexual abuse, they decided not to have children, or when they did, it impacted their parenting, with many participants describing the effects of intergenerational trauma on their families.”
The inquiry found that many survivors “spoke with real sadness of the impact of telling their elderly parents of their experiences”.
Survivors encountered difficulties with authority figures in employment, with their long-term solution being to undertake contract work or self-employment.
Others missed out on opportunities to go to university due to poor academic progress or “inappropriate behaviour in employment resulting from mental health difficulties and addictions”, the report said.
Some participants said they had successful careers because they worked excessively “at the cost of their close relationships, to distract themselves from their early trauma”, the inquiry found.
Survivors spoke of emigrating and “creating distances from family and friends to avoid traumatic memories”.
They spoke of becoming alienated from religion and church-related services to the extent that they would avoid a parent’s funeral or other family event “as they could not enter a church”.
Some detailed how a crisis in adulthood such as a suicide attempt or time in rehabilitation “as a time when their childhood abuse first came to the fore and was identified as a source of their difficulties”, beginning a process of healing.
The majority of participants who in later years approached the religious order about the abuse said the “encounter had not been helpful, especially where it involved a defended legal process”.
A minority found the experience helpful “where a sincere apology was offered with compassion and meaning”, the report said.
‘Their childhood stopped the day the abuse started’: The impact of the abuse
Participants in the scoping inquiry spoke of their fear, shock and naivety about the sexual abuse when it happened and how it evoked “feelings of shame, responsibility, isolation, powerlessness and secrecy.”
They described “trying to avoid the sexual abuse, avoiding their favourite activities, their friends and ultimately their school.”
Some said they experienced mental health problems and adopted “unhealthy coping mechanisms including the misuse of alcohol and drugs, and how some of those problems followed them into adulthood”.
Some said other children tried to warn them about risky situations or certain staff.
The abuse caused confusion among the participants about their own developing sexuality and of declining academic performance hwich limited their opportunities in education and later employment, they told the scoping inquiry.
“Many participants said that they felt that the power of the Catholic Church permeated their lives in every way and, for the majority, they felt there was no one they could tell, including their parents,” said the report.
“For some this has led to lifelong estrangement or difficult family relationships. Many said that their childhood stopped the day the abuse started.”
Allegations of cover-up and collusion
Many survivors spoke “of their strong believe that what was happening was so pervasive that it could not possibly have gone unnoticed by other staff, and the members and leadership of the religious orders”.
“Many participants were very clear in their belief that there had been a cover-up in their schools or by the religious order and some believed there was collusion between some institutions of the State and the Church,” the inquiry report said.
The nature of the alleged abuse at the schools
The survivors talked about how the experiences of abuse had “impacted every part of their lives,” the scoping inquiry report said.
“It was evident that for some, the experience of sexual abuse recounted had a devastating impact on their childhood and that the effects had lasted throughout their lives.”
For many, the stories explained that there was “no place or sense of safety in their schools or indeed, their lives, as a result of their experiences of sexual abuse.”
The inquiry report said that “appalling childhood sexual abuse” was described by the survivors, occurring in various locations including in classrooms, dormitories, sports facilities and at musical and extracurricular activities.
Some reported being sexual abused in their homes by adults associated with their school who had “gained their family’s trust, only to abuse that trust egregiously.”
The sexual abuse also took place in private offices and residential quarters of school staff and religious order members.
Many spoke of being abused in the presence of other children or adults, and others reported being abused when alone with a teacher, priest or religious brother, other school staff or a visitor to their school.
In many cases, the sexual abuse had been ongoing, while for others it occurred randomly or “followed a period of grooming and was often reported as having been accompanied by ferocious violence,” the report said.
“Participants described being molested, stripped naked, raped and drugged amidst an atmosphere of terror and silence.”
Timing of the alleged abuse and the number of survivors who participated in inquiry
The scoping inquiry received information questionnaires from 205 survivors detailing experiences of sexual abuse in schools in at least 22 counties in Ireland, with more than 80 schools, run by 24 religious orders, named by the individuals.
Most incidents of abuse too place between the early 1960s and early 1990s with the highest number of reported incidents occurring in the early to mid-1970s.
Some 182 survivors who completed questionnaires for the inquiry were found to fall within the scoping inquiry’s terms of reference and 149 people agreed to be interviewed in-person (137) or submit written statements (12).
Restore Together, an advocacy group representing survivors of abuse at Spiritan-run schools, has expressed concern that a Government inquiry into historic abuse might further delay justice for survivors, and avenues to redress.
Corry McMahon, a member of Restore Together group and survivor of abuse at Blackrock College, told The Irish Times that the process of establishing a redress scheme for survivors “shouldn’t be slowed down” by an inquiry. He said it was important to keep survivors front and centre of that process, and make sure that their voices are heard.
“It’s the men and women that were abused at their hands, they’re the important people,” he said.
Almost 2,400 allegations of historical sexual abuse at 308 schools run by religious orders have been disclosed to the Government-appointed scoping inquiry.
The allegations were made against 884 alleged abusers, the report is understood to say. The religious orders said that more than half of the 884 accused abusers are known to be deceased.
The scoping inquiry report said that the total number of allegations likely exceeds the stated figure given the level of underreporting of childhood sexual abuse.
The inquiry also found that, among the 2,395 allegations reported overall, there is a particular high number of allegations in special education schools where there were 590 allegations recorded in 17 special schools involving 190 alleged abusers.
The report was written by Mary O’Toole SC, who was appointed by Ms Foley after an RTÉ documentary was broadcast about Mark and David Ryan, two survivors of abuse at the Spiritan-run Blackrock College in Dublin.
A report on allegations of abuse at schools run by religious orders is to be published on Tuesday afternoon, following Cabinet agreement to establish a statutory inquiry into the matter.
The 700-page report was commissioned last year from senior counsel Mary O’Toole following accounts of abuse at Blackrock College in Dublin.
The scoping inquiry conducted by Ms O’Toole included religious-run boarding and day schools, and it is understood that the report features schools run by many different religious orders. Sources say that there may be thousands of cases of sexual abuse in the schools.
Minister for Education Norma Foley secured agreement at Cabinet on Tuesday morning to establish a statutory inquiry, which is understood to include all types of schools, rather than just those run by religious orders.
The Minister will hold a press conference on the issue at 4.30pm, with the report expected to be published shortly after. Follow us here for live updates on the report and reaction from survivors.
