Board to pay €20m to victims of abuse

THE Residential Institutions Redress Board has agreed to pay out over €20m in compensation to applicants found to have been abused in industrial schools and reformatories.

That figure, however, could rise tenfold in view of the thousands of applications already received in the past year and the board’s requirement to pay applicants’ legal costs.

Payments made by the board range from €10,000 to €240,000 and average €80,000.