Deadline for scoping inquiry into abuse in schools extended to June 26th

Survivors of abuse in day and boarding schools have had the deadline extended for submission of completed questionnaires to the Scoping Inquiry set up by the Government following recent revelations. The questionnaires may now be submitted up to 5.30pm on Monday June 26th.

It follows an appeal from some survivors for an extension to the deadline and publication last week of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church’s annual report detailing a surge in allegations of abuse in boarding schools following broadcast of the RTÉ Radio 1 documentary Blackrock Boys last November.

The board’s report said there were 251 allegations of abuse reported last year, up from 178 reports the previous year, and attributed this increase to people coming forward to report being sexually abused in boarding schools following that documentary. Last December alone the board received 76 such reports, which was higher than the total number of such reports it had received in the previous eight months.

The Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools, led by Senior Counsel Mary O’Toole, was set up to determine what shape an investigation into abuse in the schools should take, with particular emphasis on the views of survivors. It will also take on board advice from experts in child protection and restorative justice.

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The survivor engagement process is being led by child protection expert Kieran McGrath and conducted by facilitators trained in trauma-informed practice while the One in Four organisation, which assists survivors, has been engaged to support those involved with the scoping inquiry process.

Last month survivors of abuse at the schools were written to by the Scoping Inquiry to find out what they require of a planned Government investigation into their experiences. The letter, sent to those who registered an interest in participating with the inquiry, pointed out that it had “a survivor engagement process at its centre” and aimed “to find out what survivors want the Government to do” in relation to their sexual abuse at the schools.

This, it said, would be done in a two-stage process, with the intention of reaching out to survivors “in a way that enables them to come forward without fear” and were “invited to complete a questionnaire to identify themselves and their experiences”. Stage two of the process would involve more direct contact with survivors.

The letter said the inquiry – announced by Minister for Education Norma Foley last March – was “keen to ensure that survivors have an opportunity to outline what they would like to see happen next” and how it was “important that survivors know that they will be contributing to making Irish schools and educational settings safer for children and young people”.