I hope referendum will prevent the kind of abuse I suffered

As a former orphan I welcome the children’s rights referendum.

I hope it will prevent the abuse that I suffered as a child along with over 30 others in the Westbank Orphanage in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

Some criticism is emerging to the effect that the provisions might give the State too much power. All I can say is that the State exercised none over Westbank. As a Protestant Evangelical institution, it was left to its own devices without any apparent interference.