Little on record of children held in institutions

LITTLE or no account was recorded of the conditions under which thousands of children were kept in institutionalised care after Ireland gained independence, the State’s inquiry into the emergence of child abuse heard yesterday.

Prior to 1922 inspectors reported to the British Home Office’s Children’s Department. They had been vigilant and produced annual reports.

In 1930 the then Department of Education produced a 200-plus page report, but only eight pages referred to industrial and reformatory schools.