Sir, – It is extraordinary that Michael Ferry was re-employed in Ard Scoil Mhuire in Derrybeg having been previously convicted of indecent assault.
The board of management at the time must supply a specific answer to the question, “Were you aware of Michael Ferry’s previous conviction when you re-employed him?”
It would appear, regrettably, that the authorities are not legally culpable in not taking Michael Ferry’s previous convictions into account before re-employing him. This is a glaring fault in the legal protection of children in the Republic (it would appear that children have far superior legal protection in Northern Ireland and Britain) and underlines the urgent need for a referendum on a comprehensive child protection policy. – Yours, etc,