James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse - the Ryan report - was published on 20 May, 2009 and was one of a range of measures which were put in place following the formal apology by the State to the victims of abuse. The Residential Institutions Redress Board was also established in order to make payments to persons who, as children, were abused while residents in industrial schools, reformatories and other institutions subject to State regulation or inspection.

While the inclusion of children abused in foster care was raised during the passage of the legislation setting up the redress board, foster care settings were not included within the scope of the scheme. Following the publication of the Ryan report in 2009, there were a range of requests for the redress scheme to be extended, including requests to include foster care settings. Having considered these requests, the previous Government announced its decision not to revise those arrangements in April 2010.

The Deputy will be aware that the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters has been established by the Government and will thoroughly examine the experiences of the many mothers and children who were resident in a mother and baby home over the period 1922 to 1998. Linked to this examination, the commission will consider the practices and procedures relating to the placement of children outside of mother and baby homes.

The Government has no plans currently to carry out any further systemic historical reviews at this time. If an allegation of historical abuse is made, the Child and Family Agency, under its statutory responsibility under section 3 of the Child Care Act, 1991, is required to investigate such allegations. This would include establishing whether the alleged perpetrator presents a current risk to children. If the allegation is made by a child, the agency would also be required to take the steps it considers necessary to protect the child in question. An Garda Síochána also has a role regarding historical abuse in the context of investigating any criminal aspects involved. It is of course always open to any individual to have recourse to the courts in respect of any allegation of a crime, including historical abuse.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The Deputy will be aware that survivors of child abuse can access the services of the national counselling service which is a professional, confidential counselling and psychotherapy service available free of charge in all regions of the country.

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