Free-up institutional abuse fund to help asylum seekers, says bishop

Catholic Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey has said it would be helpful if resources offered by religious orders to help pay the redress bill for survivors of institutional abuse could be released to help asylum seekers.

He described the experience of those in the direct provision system as “hugely oppressive and stressful”.

The bishop likened the direct provision system to industrial schools and reformatories in the past.

“In Ireland, in the last generation, we have been looking back at how we have failed, and I say that as a church person as well, and the price paid by adults because of the suffering in their childhood is something that lies heavily on the consciousness of all of us.

“And so here we have a new generation of children for whom growing up in Ireland is a very painful and a very difficult thing.”

Asked on RTÉ Radio’s This Week programme whether resources offered by 18 religious congregations as part of the redress settlement could be released to help asylum seekers, he said: “It’s probably part of the spirit in which the contribution was made and certainly if some of those resources which have been made available could be used to help with this problem, that would be helpful.

“But at the end of the day this is a State-created issue. The State is responsible for those people who come to the State seeking citizenship.”