Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The RTÉ documentary on the sexual abuse at Blackrock College highlights the murky history of abuse and cover up in our education system. The redress scheme for survivors of sexual abuse in schools only came about through the bravery of Louise O'Keeffe who went to the European Court of Human Rights. The scheme, however, is intentionally restrictive and even with last year's changes it is designed to exclude many, as it is only open to those who had begun legal proceedings prior to July 2021. The Government is fully aware that many cases were dropped or even not initiated following the Supreme Court ruling against Louise O'Keeffe in 2009. This cruel restriction needs to be removed to enable all survivors of abuse to claim redress. Also, there is a glaring need to establish a commission of investigation into sexual and other forms of abuse in our schools.

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