No funding to counsel sex abuse survivors

FUNDING which was to be made available to counselling services for victims of sexual abuse in the aftermath of the Ryan Report has still not been allocated to support groups one year on from the damning report, it has emerged.

Today marks the first anniversary of a report which shocked the nation, chronicling years of systemic abuse of children in state-supervised institutions run by religious orders.

The money is part of a €15m package allocated to implement recommendations of the report, one of which is to provide extra counselling services for victims, and €2m of which was for counselling services.