By Ailbhe Conneely - RTE News - 07/06/2024 - [PREVENTION] - [IRELAND]
The final report of a scoping inquiry into historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders has been delivered to the Minister for Education.
The document is more than 700 pages long and includes 26 chapters across five volumes.
It is understood that the contributions of survivors who participated in the scoping inquiry are presented in the early chapters of the report.
It follows a series of abuse allegations from the 1960s and 1970s at schools run by religious congregations.
The scoping inquiry, which was led by Senior Council Mary O'Toole, began its work last March when the Department of Education sought to examine the extent of historical allegations of abuse in schools run by religious orders.
It followed RTÉ documentary 'Blackrock Boys' which aired in November 2022 in which Mark and David Ryan spoke about sexual abuse they suffered during the 1970s on the campus of Blackrock College, run by the Holy Ghost Order.
Their story gave many other men courage to speak about alleged abuse at schools run by religious orders around the country as far back as the 1960s.
This evening, Minister for Education Norma Foley wrote to victims and survivors to confirm that she had received the report. Ms Foley expressed her sincere thanks and appreciation to them for their contributions to the inquiry.
She acknowledged David Ryan, and his brother, the late Mark Ryan, "whose bravery and conviction in sharing their stories played a pivotal role in in the establishment of the scoping inquiry".
Ms Foley said her intention was to study the report and consider its contents carefully.
"I appreciate that survivors will be keen to read the report and I want to assure you that I intend to publish it as soon as possible", she said.
She added that following consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, she would seek Government approval to publish the report in "the shortest possible timeframe". If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm.
Dignity4Patients Commentary: Victims of Michael Shine, some of whom, engaged with this scoping inquiry are also seeking the release of the Smyth Report currently stored in the Dept. of Health. Lets hope Minister @NormaFoleyTD1 releases this report as promised. The victims of Michael Shine have endured a prolonged wait for their report. @DonnellyStephen