Investigation into sexual abuse in schools should include probe into State's responsibility, survivor says

Louise O’Keeffe called on the State to release all files it holds that may be relevant to the commission examining the handling of allegations of sexual abuse in all schools. File picture: Dan Linehan

A survivor has called on the State to investigate its own responsibility for sexual abuse in schools as part of a newly established commission of investigation.

Louise O’Keeffe called on the State to release all files it holds that may be relevant to the commission examining the handling of allegations of sexual abuse in all schools.

Ms O’Keeffe took Ireland to the European Court of Human Rights claiming inhuman and degrading treatment while aged nine at Dunderrow National School in Co Cork in 1973.

Her former principal Leo Hickey was prosecuted in the 1990s for historic abuse against pupils. In 2014, the European court found that Ireland’s system of detection and reporting of abuse was ineffective in the 1970s as it allowed more than 400 incidents of abuse over such a long period.

It said if adequate action had been taken in 1971 when the first complaint against Hickey was made, Ms O’Keeffe might have not been abused by him.

Speaking after education minister Helen McEntee announced the establishment of the commission, Ms O’Keefe said it was “past time” that the investigation had been set up.

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Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland Ms O’Keefe said she was anxious that State bodies be investigated into how “they did and did not handle claims.”

It was essential that files within the Department of Education be released as many of the older schools would have closed and the abusers would have died and many cases had not been handled correctly, she added.

Announcing the commission, Ms McEntee said more work is needed to decide how a redress scheme for victims of sexual abuse in schools is to progress. Ms O’Keefe pointed out that a redress scheme for survivors was already in place. 

“The European Court found that the State had a responsibility for the sexual abuse of the children in the schools.” The religious orders must also be held accountable to the schools that the religious order ran, she said.

But the State cannot delay the redress to all pupils waiting for the religious orders to be sorted because of the fact that not all of the schools were run by religious orders. It's important that they do not sideline some schools while they're waiting for other schools.

Meanwhile, the special rapporteur on child protection, human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher, welcomed the terms of reference of the Commission of Investigation. 

"I hope some lessons are being learned from the horrendous experience that many survivors went through in other recent investigations, including of course in relation to the Grace report where they described the process itself being re-traumatising and the process itself being adversarial and not being trauma-informed.”

Ms Gallagher also welcomed the “sampling” approach of the commission. This was more realistic, she said.