800 abuse victims on counselling waiting list

MORE than 800 victims of abuse are on a waiting list for the National Counselling Service (NCS), with a further 208 returning clients also waiting for vital support services.

Concerns were raised last year that 10 permanent and two temporary posts vacant in the NCS had not been filled due to the public service moratorium.

According to the Ryan Report implementation plan, the NCS should be exempted from the public service ban on recruitment.

The report said it estimated without additional provision for staff, the waiting time for counselling for new referrals could be up to two years.

Since then, numbers on the waiting list have increased and only three posts were filled, replacing staff who have retired or left the NCS since July 2009.

Among the posts remaining vacant are two director of counselling posts and three counsellor/therapist positions.

According to the HSE, in preparation for the publication of the Murphy Report, investigating clerical abuse in the Dublin archdiocese, a team of clinicians was trained to deal with an expected surge in calls.

“However, all agencies have reported a further increase in their referral rates and ours increased by a further 5% which brings the increase in referrals to 75% above our usual rate,” a spokeswoman for the HSE said.

Established in September 2000, the NCS was set up to provide a service specifically for those who had been abused as children when resident in some Irish institutions.

Latest figures show 48 clients currently waiting for a first appointment are victims of institutional abuse. Survivors of abuse in family or community settings make up the bulk of those waiting at 777.

In 2008, the NCS published its strategic framework for service planning and delivery 2009-2012.

It identified six strategic priorities for the service, among them the anticipated increase in demand for services arising from the publication of the Ryan Report and the Dublin Diocesan Report.

In discussions with Government since the publication of the Commission’s Report, victims and survivors have been generally complimentary about the work of the NCS, but have commented on the difficulty of accessing therapy due to lengthy waiting lists, sometimes of several months.