Abuse victims group forced to close

The Government came under fire tonight over an “eleventh hour” decision not to continue funding one of the country’s key support groups for abuse victims.

Charity One in Four said it will be forced to close because of a decision by the Health Department to withhold funding for its counselling programme.

Director Colm O’Gorman suggested the decision could be linked to his critical stance over the resignation of a senior high court judge who headed the country’s child abuse commission.

At a press conference in Dublin Mr O’Gorman said: “It is very difficult to work out what the reasons for this crisis are.

“What’s beyond doubt is that at the eleventh hour the department have pulled our funding. The reasons for their doing that are difficult to understand.

“It is indeed true that following the resignation of Justice Laffoy … we spoke publicly and expressed our views. We also spoke privately to Government and expressed our views.

“There were suggestions that sections of Government were uncomfortable and unhappy with some of the things that we were saying.”

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy quit as head of the commission the day after a government-directed review of its work said it could take as long as 11 years to complete.

Mr O’Gorman said today that the Government had already provided his group with €425,000 but was withholding an additional €81,000 that it had promised to pay towards therapy costs.

As a result of this One in Four Ireland – which offers counselling services to people who have experienced sexual abuse – said it would have to close at the end of the month.

“That a service that delivers support to many hundreds of Irish citizens who have been sexually abused could be undermined and destroyed in such a careless and negligent fashion is beyond belief,” Mr O’Gorman added.

“It certainly suggests that despite their often stated care for victims of abuse this Government has failed to follow promises with action.”

Labour’s Liz McManus called on Health Minister Micheál Martin to provide the funding necessary to allow One in Four to continue functioning.

She said: “One in Four has been one if the most successful groups assisting victims of sexual abuse and it would be a real tragedy if it were allowed to close.

“This will send out the wrong message entirely to victims of abuse.

“We have heard the Taoiseach and other senior ministers repeat time after time over the past few weeks that their primary concern is for the victims of abuse. This is an odd way to show it.”

In a statement Ireland’s health department said it had fully supported the establishment of One in Four.

It said that since April 2002 it had provided €633,000, of which €425,000 was for the group in Ireland and the remainder for its organisation in the United Kingdom – which will carry on functioning as normal.

Department officials hope to meet representatives of the group later this week for discussions.

They said help for victims would be provided through the National Counselling Service.

Staff at the group were given statutory redundancy notice. The organisation will close on October 31.