Sex abuse redress scheme likely by September – officials 

The scheme was set up following a landmark ruling in 2014 from the European Court of Human Rights in a case taken by Cork woman Louise O’Keeffe.  File picture: Michael Mac Sweeeney/Provision

The State expects to be in a position to commence a new or modified redress scheme by the end of September for victims of sexual abuse in schools, officials have told Europe.

In July, it will be two years since the current ex gratia scheme was paused pending a temporary review, following a State apology to survivors about its failure. 

This apology was prompted by an independent assessment of failed applications to the scheme which found the State was imposing “illogical” requirements on victims seeking redress.

The scheme itself was set up following a landmark ruling in 2014 from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in a case taken by Cork woman Louise O’Keeffe. 

The State’s failure to implement this key aspect of the ruling has drawn sharp criticism from survivors and legal experts. 

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In its latest update to the Council of Europe, the State said its review was delayed for a time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Department of Education and Office of the Attorney General are now devoting “significant resources” to the matter. 

“The issues involved are highly sensitive and complex and therefore require careful deliberation before proposals can be finalised and brought to Government,” the update states. 

This includes “the number of people who could potentially be involved, the legal implications of any course of action, and an accurate estimate of likely costs”. 

It is anticipated the State will be in a position to commence any such new or modified ex gratia scheme during the third quarter of 2021.”

In 2017, retired High Court Judge Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill was appointed an independent assessor to examine rejected applications to the scheme. 

'Fundamental unfairness to applicants'

In 2019, his published determination condemned the State’s interpretation of the O'Keeffe ruling as representing "a fundamental unfairness to applicants" and involving "an inherent inversion of logic".

This was because of the State’s inclusion of criteria that required survivors of sex abuse seeking redress to prove that there was a complaint made about their abuser before their own abuse took place.

Professor Conor O'Mahony of the Child Law Clinic at University College Cork said the announcement of a firm timeline for ending ongoing delays is welcome. However, the language used in the update around how the findings of Justice O'Neill would be "taken into account" is concerning. 

"Saying that this finding is being 'taken into account' does not provide reassurance that it has been fully accepted in the review process," he said. 

Any redress scheme must recognise that the O’Keeffe judgment found the State failed to put in place effective safeguards against abuse in national schools, he added. 

"It failed all victims. Any revised redress scheme that excludes victims for arbitrary reasons would continue to fall short of the State’s obligations under human rights law, and would renege on the commitments made to survivors by the Government in 2019."