Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 190: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider extending the institutional abuse compensation scheme to institutions and organisations run by non-catholic religious groups and organisations in view of recently made allegations of abuse at an institution (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15184/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002 established the Redress Board to make financial awards to people who, as children were resident in specified institutions and who have or have had injuries that are consistent with abuse received while resident in these institutions. The Schedule to the 2002 Act specified 128 institutions and the Act allowed for the inclusion of other specified institutions in which children were placed and resident and in respect of which a public body had an inspection or regulatory function.

Religious ethos was not an eligibility criterion and while catholic religious orders ran the majority of specified institutions, others were either run by organisations having a protestant ethos or run on a non-denominational basis.

Following the publication of the Ryan Report in May 2009, there were a range of demands for the redress scheme to be extended, including demands to include specific institutions and categories of institutions. Having considered these demands, the Government announced its decision not to revise the arrangements in it press statement of 15th April, 2010.

The closing date for receipt of applications by the Redress Board was 15th December, 2005, although the Board can extend the period for receipt of applications where it considers that there are exceptional circumstances. Having processed 14,388 applications at the end of 2010, the Redress Board had some 550 applications to process and it continues to accept late applications in exceptional circumstances.

I have no plans to extend the scope of the Redress Act to include any further institutions.