No decision on memorial for victims of childhood abuse, 12 years after report's publication

When taoiseach, Bertie Ahern issued an apology to survivors of institutional abuse. File picture:Niall Carson/PA Wire

The Department of Education has yet to make a decision on how to permanently memorialise the experiences of victims of childhood abuse, almost 12 years on from when it was first recommended by the Ryan Report.

The first recommendation of the landmark report published in May 2009 states that a memorial be erected, to act as a permanent public acknowledgement of the experiences of victims of institutional abuse. 

According to the report's recommendations, it is important for the "alleviation of the effects of childhood abuse that the State’s formal recognition of the abuse that occurred and the suffering of the victims be preserved” in a permanent place.

No decision made on memorial 12 years after report’s publication

The report recommended that the following words from the State apology issued by then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern be inscribed on the memorial: “On behalf of the State and of all citizens of the State, the Government wishes to make a sincere and long overdue apology to the victims of childhood abuse, for our collective failure to intervene, to detect their pain, to come to their rescue.” 

A proposed memorial, called the Journey of Light, hit a planning setback in 2013. The initial designs near the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin were originally granted planning permission by Dublin City Council. 

However, these were later refused by An Bord Pleanála. 

A number of other suitable sites were then identified by the council, but the design of the memorial was site-specific. The memorial committee did not deem any of the other designs submitted to the international competition in 2010 as suitable. 

A €500,000 capital allocation has been set aside for the project. This week, a spokesman for the Department of Education said that consultation with a survivor forum is being facilitated by external mediators. 

"These meetings continued in 2020 but on a virtual basis because of the pandemic." 

"With the publication of the final Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, the Government has acknowledged that proper memorialisation of Ireland’s history of institutionalisation and institutional abuse must take place." 

“There are differing views about memorialisation held by survivors with some survivors of the industrial/reformatory school system expressing their views that their histories need to be treated as distinct and separate from the histories of people who were in other institutions."