The government has officially resolved to set up a legally mandated investigation into child sexual molestation in day and boarding schools. The groundwork for this investigation, which involves creating necessary legislation to be presented to the Oireachtas, is set to commence soon and is anticipated to incorporate comprehensive consultations with victims of such abuse.
The suggestion for this inquiry was presented to the government on Tuesday morning by Norma Foley, the Education Minister, after receiving the green light from the three coalition party leaders on Monday night.
A scoping report addressing allegations of abuse at schools under religious orders — sparked by accounts of abuse at Blackrock College in Dublin, giving rise to a multitude of similar stories — is anticipated to be made public by the government, potentially as soon as this evening.
Ms Foley and her team have been inspecting a 700-page report that was authored last year by senior counsel Mary O’Toole, following historic abuse accusations at Blackrock College.
The scoping investigation conducted by Ms O’Toole encompassed boarding and day schools operated by religious institutions, and it is believed that the report includes schools governed by numerous religious orders.
According to insiders, the schools could have thousands of instances of sexual abuse.
Government personnel are still working on proposals for a compensation scheme for victims of previous abuse, with at least a portion of the costs expected to be covered by the religious orders. Plans for this have been in the works by Ms Foley and her team, which are likely to be heavily shaped by the preferences of the survivors.
The scoping exercise’s terms of reference explicitly stipulated that Ms O’Toole’s recommendations to the government should align with the results desired by victims of historic sexual abuse in schools under the governance of religious orders. It’s stated that this should be “guided by the survivor engagement process” which has been an integral part of the scoping investigation’s work.