Concern in Government over scope of any inquiry into schools abuse

Senior figures in Government are concerned that any inquiry instituted into abuse at Blackrock College could soon extend to hundreds of schools, potentially taking many years to complete.

Discussions are ongoing within Government about some form of a State inquiry into abuse at Blackrock College and other schools after recent revelations by alleged victims and subsequent public debate.

Several senior Coalition figures say there is a necessity for an inquiry but also admit concerns about how such a process could be limited.

Sources who have knowledge of discussions say there are fears that any inquiry could soon extend to cover any school where allegations of physical or sexual abuse took place — potentially extending its scope to cover many hundreds of schools.

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Several sources pointed to the complexity of the issues under consideration. And all stressed the need to take the views of victims into account. It is expected that Minister for Education Norma Foley will meet with former Spiritan pupils next week, though no decision on any inquiry is expected for some weeks.

Meanwhile, the Carmelite Order has confirmed that 56 people have made allegations of historical sex abuse against 21 members of the order. Twelve of those are dead, six are living and three are former order members.

Protection experts

Some 41 of those allegations relate to 12 Carmelites who worked its two schools, Terenure College and the former Carmelite College in Moate, which closed in 1996. The rest is related to pastoral activities. The abuse allegations date back to the early 1960s.

The order confirmed on Friday that €1.6 million has been paid in settlements to 26 victims.

Two high-profile child protection experts have backed calls from survivors and Opposition politicians for a State inquiry into the past abuse.

Ian Elliott, former chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, said he would support calls for an inquiry into the alleged abuse in schools run by the Spiritans.

Mr Elliott, who previously led safeguarding reforms in the church in the wake of previous abuse scandals, said the inquiry should be “independent, have legal powers, be focused in its scope, time-limited, and transparent”.

How can the Spiritans abuse survivors get justice?

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Survivors of abuse “should contribute to the process” of setting any inquiry up, he told The Irish Times.

Prof Conor O’Mahony, former Government special rapporteur on child protection, also said he believed there should be an inquiry into the past abuse.

[ Blackrock College abuse: Why did leading voices stay silent for so long? ]

“I think there is enough evidence for the suggestion of very serious wrongdoing,” he said. Deciding what form an inquiry should take would be “the tricky part”, said Prof O’Mahony.

A statutory commission of investigation had drawbacks, such as being a heavily legal process as well as often taking a considerable amount of time, he said.

Adverse findings

An inquiry set up on a non-statutory basis would be able to produce a report sooner, but would be constrained in its ability to make adverse findings against named individuals, he said.

[ ‘He was a vicious paedophile, a horrible man’: Abused pupils share their experiences ]

In recent days, allegations of historical sexual abuse have emerged about other fee-paying schools, such as Castleknock College.

The Vincentians, who run the west Dublin school and several others, confirmed another person had come forward on Friday to report being allegedly abused in the 1980s by one of its priests, who is now dead.

Earlier this week the Vincentians disclosed 46 people had previously reported being allegedly abused by priests of the order. The Spiritans said the number of people who had reported alleged abuse in its schools had risen to almost 300, following revelations of past sexual abuse in Blackrock College in recent weeks.