Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Litigation against my Department relating to child abuse arises in two contexts. The first relates to former residents of institutions who suffered abuse while in those institutions. Former residents have been entitled to make an application to the Residential Institutions Redress Board for an award in recognition of the abuse they suffered. A person can decide not to apply to the redress board or to reject an award made by the board and to pursue a claim before the courts.

The second area of litigation relates to day school cases where the Department may be named along with the patrons or boards of management of schools. In this context it should be noted that the education system has long been structured on the basis that schools are run by local management in whom legal responsibility is vested and that with the exception of pay issues, the Department does not employ teachers.

Since 1 September 2005, all personal injury claims against the Minister for Education and Science, including those in respect of child abuse, have been delegated by the Government to the State Claims Agency, SCA. A consequence of this is that the SCA has responsibility for deciding whether cases should be contested or settled. In accordance with a service protocol agreed between the Department and the SCA, the agency informs my Department of relevant information and seeks its views. It is, however, the SCA rather than the Minister or Department which determines how these cases are conducted. In making those decisions, the SCA decides whether to dispute liability or the amount of damages, or both, on a case by case basis. My views, which are conveyed to the SCA, also have regard to the individual circumstances of thecase.

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