'We've been ignored' - Woman abused in State care calls for Commission of Investigation

The woman, a survivor of severe abuse while she was a child in foster care, was the subject of a Tusla review known as the Alice Report

During her hour-and-a-half meeting with the Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman (pictured), Alice asked for a State apology for herself and her family. File photo

A woman who suffered severe abuse while in the care of the State is calling for a Commission of Investigation to determine how many children have been abused in foster care.

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman has met with 'Alice', a survivor of severe abuse while she was a child in foster care, and who was the subject of a Tusla review known as the Alice Report.

The  Irish Examiner recently reported that gardaí also wrongly told a local authority that Alice had a conviction for driving without insurance when she was applying for housing assistance, it has emerged.

She only found out that inaccurate conviction information had been supplied to the local authority after she submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for documents relating to her application.

During her hour-and-a-half meeting with the Minister, Alice asked for a State apology for herself and her family, and also called for the establishment of a Commission of Investigation into child abuse which occurred within the State foster care system.

In a letter given to Mr O'Gorman during the meeting, Alice outlined her own experience, which she claims is not unique.

"My story is complicated. When I share my story with people, very often they struggle to believe me because they think it is impossible for someone to be as unlucky as I have been, in my life and in my dealings with the system," she wrote. 

However, I don’t think I am the victim of bad luck – I think there may be something more sinister at play here.

"I know other victims of abuse where the trends from my case are all the same. Where victims had to run away from home in order to escape the abuse because their disclosures were not being acted upon. Where other potential victims – siblings of the child making the disclosure were never interviewed as part of the investigation.

"This is not ancient history – many of the people who allege they were abused in foster care date their abuse to the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s."

Citing the Ryan Report and the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, she said the State has rightly conducted robust investigations into other areas, "but as far as I can see no government or minister has ever set about to examine or quantify the level of physical, emotional and sexual abuse experienced by children in foster care in this country over the years. We have been largely ignored."

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín questioned whether or not the 16 other children who went through the same foster home as Alice were ever interviewed by gardaí or social workers as part of any investigation.

"This matter is very serious and Aontú will be raising the matter with the Government once more, as soon as the Dáil is sitting again," he said.