Education Minister Norma Foley has committed to sharing a crucial report on historical abuse in boarding and day schools managed by religious institutions with survivors prior to its public release. In her recent letter to those affected, Ms. Foley revealed plans to make the report public in the upcoming autumn season, with survivors who contributed to the inquiry to receive it first.
Initial understanding of the report indicates it suggests instituting a statutory inquiry to investigate possible sexual abuse of thousands of children. The respective leaders of government parties conferred on the matter on Tuesday night with Ms. Foley, whose department commissioned the report from senior counsel Mary O’Toole last year.
The hefty report, spanning over 700 pages, is anticipated to be released in September, subsequently leading to the formation of a statutory inquiry. Ms. Foley, in her letter, remarked that survivors’ experiences detailed in the report were extremely disturbing and abhorrent, and commended the bravery of all those who had spoken out.
The Fianna Fáil TD reported that discussions with the Office of the Attorney General began on 7th June and continued in tandem with the study of the report’s content. Post consultation with government colleagues and the Attorney General’s Office, she plans to publish the report in the autumn.
Although the report is likely to pique public and media interest, Ms. Foley stressed that her priority is to present the comprehensive report to the inquiry’s participants initially, before its broader publication. Despite probable media coverage of the report’s principle points, her plan is to share the full report with survivors before unveiling its full contents to the public. The scoping inquiry team will be liaising for concerning this matter.
Following accusations made by several former students of sexual abuse at Blackrock College in Dublin, a scoping inquiry was initiated last year by Ms Foley. David and Mark Ryan, two brothers, were the first to bring these accusations to light, revealing that they had been sexually exploited by priests at Blackrock College and its associated junior institution, Willow Park. Both of these educational establishments were overseen by the Spiritan congregation, which used to be the Holy Ghost Fathers.
The Ryans’ confessions happened during an RTÉ radio documentary, Blackrock Boys, in 2022. They only figured out they had each been victimised in 2002, several years after the abuse occurred. This documentary unravelled a slew of admissions, with hundreds of victims disclosing that they too were sexually assaulted as boys in schools run by the Spiritans, and other congregations managing day and boarding schools in the past.
Eventually, it was found that over 140 individuals reported cases of child sexual abuse involving 18 predators to gardaí, who were looking into such allegations at the South Dublin schools.
The Department of Education kicked off the scoping inquiry with a mandate to provide the Government with advice on the problem’s nature and potential future action. The inquiry was expanded to encompass abuse allegations in religious-run boarding and day schools, and received in excess of 200 submissions. According to sources, the report includes schools administrated by a multitude of diverse religious orders. Ms Foley received the report in the early part of June.