Scouting Ireland decided against setting up a “non-adversarial” scheme to support survivors who were sexually abused as children by scout leaders, which might have avoided putting victims through lengthy court battles, documents show.
The youth organisation is facing close to 70 High Court cases taken by alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse seeking compensation. The growing financial cost of the actions poses a serious threat to the voluntary body.
Scouting Ireland has spent years grappling with the fallout of a historical child sex abuse scandal. Hundreds of people who said they had been sexually abused when they were children came forward in 2018, following reporting by The Irish Times.
The abuse spanned decades and took place in predecessor bodies – the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland and the Scout Association of Ireland – where suspected abusers in positions of power covered up the crimes for years.
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Documents recently obtained by The Irish Times show Scouting Ireland was advised against adopting a defensive legal approach towards survivors of abuse in its former associations.
[ Abuse survivors left waiting too long for redress from Scouting Ireland ]
[ Embattled Scouting Ireland board ‘exhausted’ by infighting, review findsOpens in new window ]
Child protection expert Ian Elliott, who was brought in to help reform the organisation, recommended it set up a “victim support programme”, as an alternative to “adversarial” legal battles.
A proposal written by Mr Elliott said such a scheme would include “facilitating healing, developing self-respect and apologising for the harm caused . . . It is not about giving money but where necessary, this can happen”.
Opting to contest cases through the courts would be “extremely costly and very damaging for the survivors”, Mr Elliott said.
His proposal, put forward in late 2018, said Scouting Ireland would ”not survive the current crisis” if it adopted the same confrontational approach to redress as other institutions devastated by past abuse scandals.
Court records show the organisation is facing nearly 70 High Court cases, taken by people who were allegedly sexually abused as children in former scouting bodies.
Norman Spicer, a solicitor with Coleman Legal Partners, who represents 40 of the plaintiffs, said Scouting Ireland had been “vigorously defending” every case, despite having issued a public apology to those abused by former scout leaders.
“Forcing victims through an extremely adversarial litigation process in order to obtain justice adds insult to injury,” Mr Spicer said.
Paul O’Toole, a survivor of David O’Brien – a prolific abuser serving multiple prison sentences for sexually assaulting boy scouts – is still waiting for a civil case he took in 2016 to be resolved.
Another alleged abuse survivor, Mark Gaffney, said his lengthy legal battle had left him exhausted. “I’m on my knees now at this stage. I’m feeling hard done by now it’s going on for so long,” he said.
Scouting Ireland did not respond to a series of questions about the approach it has taken to alleged abuse survivors pursuing civil cases.
Law firm Mason Hayes & Curran took over Scouting Ireland’s legal defence last year, replacing Sheehan & Co Solicitors, who had represented the organisation in civil cases taken by alleged abuse victims for several years.
Settlements in civil cases involving historical child sex abuse can commonly be six-figure sums, on top of legal fees associated with defending the claim and contributions towards the plaintiff’s legal costs.
The youth organisation paid out a financial settlement in one case last year after two days of hearings in the High Court.
Scouting Ireland had calculated that legal cases taken by abuse survivors posed a €7.4 million financial liability for the organisation in 2022. It has not published annual financial accounts since then, but it is expected the estimated liability has increased.
