Survivors of physical abuse in schools cannot be 'ignored or unheard', says Taoiseach

Taoiseach Simon Harris said a commission of investigation cannot be rushed due to the need to get it right and to respect the wishes of any victims that have come forward.

The Taoiseach has said he is reflecting on calls for a commission of investigation from survivors of physical abuse in schools saying that their voices cannot be left “ignored or unheard”.

Simon Harris condemned what he described as a culture of violence and “calculated cruelty” within schools which traumatised generations of Irish children.

He was speaking following the airing of the RTÉ documentary — Leathered: Violence in Irish Schools — which he described as “harrowing viewing”. He also referenced the recent publication of the scoping report, which set out the widespread sexual abuse within schools run by religious orders.

“The publication of the scoping report, and the painful stories that have been told since, have exposed a culture of violence, of calculated cruelty and the abuse of power that victimised and terrorised generations of Irish children who still bear the wounds and have for all of their lives,” Mr Harris said.

“It is an unbearable burden which we must help lift.” 

Mr Harris said he expects an update to be provided to government soon on establishing a Commission of Investigation into clerical sex abuse. 

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The scoping inquiry highlighted once again historic failures of the State to protect children. However survivor Dermot Flynn, who recently received a settlement of €100,000 from the Spiritan Order for the physical abuse he suffered, was excluded from the scoping inquiry into sexual abuse.

"I get the bombshell from them that you weren’t sexually abused, we don’t really want to know about your case," he said. "So that made me feel that physical abuse wasn’t that important, even though it had impacted my whole life.”

The Taoiseach said he would reflect on the testimony of survivors, saying their voices cannot be left “ignored or unheard”. However, he said that the process cannot be rushed due to the need to get it right and to respect the wishes of any victims that have come forward.

Despite millions of children attending school during the years corporal punishment was in place, the Department of Education holds just 117 records of physical abuse of children by teachers. Corporal punishment remained in place in Irish schools until 1982, and teachers remained immune from prosecution until 1997.

Figures release by the Department of Education show that between 1962 and 1982, just 108 allegations involving physical abuse by teachers against pupils were recorded by the department. This is despite millions of children going through the education system. 

More than three quarters of these allegations included allegations of other forms of abuse; 87 of the allegations were at primary level where children as young as four attended school; 21 were at second level.

The Department of Education holds a further nine allegations for the five years after the introduction of the 1982 ban on Corporal Punishment in schools, 1982 to 1987.

John Boyle, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), said corporal punishment was wrong. 

He said:

It should never have been a feature of our education system. 

“The history of education in Ireland, like in many other countries, is not without its darker chapters which we should acknowledge in order to ensure they never occur again.

"The landmark decision to abolish corporal punishment from the school system in 1982 was, from a child protection perspective, one of the most momentous made here." 

He said his union is committed to safeguarding the care, dignity, rights and welfare of all pupils and teachers. "But we cannot rewrite actions undertaken many decades ago," he added. 

"I want to express my deep regret that any child found themselves in an education system which allowed the use of corporal punishment and failed to recognise its abhorrence."