'Wrong, shocking, and should never have happened': Government apology for institutional abuse

Micheál Martin said that the abuse suffered by those in residential institutions "was wrong, shocking and should never have happened"

25.02.2026.

The Taoiseach has made an apology to survivors of institutional abuse, saying "too many of our children were denied the love, care, and security that should have been theirs".

The apology follows a protest by four survivors outside Leinster House seeking additional supports for survivors of abuse in residential institutions. These included a formal apology, and a confirmation by the justice minister that no survivors have a criminal record just by virtue of having been in an industrial or reformatory school.