In November 2022, when a tsunami of sexual abuse allegations swept into the public domain following the broadcast of the RTÉ radio documentary Blackrock Boys, much of the focus was on abuse in Irish schools run by some of the religious orders.
However, allegations soon emerged about similar abuse in primary and secondary schools run by the Catholic and Protestant Churches.
On many grounds, not least moral, they would appear to be as obliged as the State and religious orders when it comes to contributing to compensation for people abused in their schools.
Traditionally, the Irish education system has been run by the churches. Currently, 88 per cent of primary schools in Ireland are Catholic, with 5.7 per cent linked to the Church of Ireland.
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At second level, of 717 of 722 post-primary schools are run in association with the main churches – 338 have a Catholic ethos, 21 are Church of Ireland, 211 are multi-denominational and 147 are inter-denominational.
Of the remaining five, two are Quaker-run, while Presbyterians, Methodists and Jews run one each.
All schools come within the remit of the Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Child Sexual Abuse in Schools, announced by Minister for Education Helen McEntee earlier this month.
Based on previous inquiries and convictions in the courts, it is known there was sexual abuse in schools other than those run by religious congregations. Yet, recent discussion around redress seems focused entirely on contributions made, or not, by religious orders, which have been found wanting.
For instance, all four religious orders involved in running Magdalene laundries refused to contribute to a redress scheme for women who spent time in those institutions. Of the eight religious congregations involved in running the Mother and Baby Homes, just two have agreed to contribute to redress for survivors.
Of the approximate €1.5 billion paid to survivors of residential institutions for children, about 16 per cent has come from the 18 religious congregations that ran them.
According to Department of Education figures, the total adjusted offers towards redress from those orders amounted to €435.53 million, with €245.24 million realised.
Even the controversial 2002 “indemnity deal" entered into by the 18 religious congregation has not been fulfilled. Two properties have yet to be transferred, with €124.94 million of the €128 million pledged under the deal realised so far.
Prof Conor O’Mahony, director of the Child Law Clinic at UCC, said one possible way of encouraging the orders and the churches to contribute to a redress scheme would be to remove a statute of limitations on survivors taking legal actions against them.
“Then it would be in their interest to contribute to a redress scheme, as a way of reducing overall costs.”
O’Mahony noted, however, that under Article 44 of the Constitution, the orders are entitled to hold on to their property.
Where the State is concerned, and repeating what he wrote in this newspaper following publication of the scoping inquiry report last September, he said “survivors, solicitors, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Child Law Clinic in UCC have spent a decade battling the Department of Education, seeking the full implementation of the O’Keeffe judgment, but this has yet to happen".
Louise O’Keeffe was aged eight when she was abused at Dunderrow National School in Cork in 1973 by principal Leo Hickey. Complaints had been made against him but, in line with Department of Education policy then, these were directed to the local priest. Hickey remained at the school, perpetrating more than 400 counts of abuse against at least 20 victims.
Following further allegations, he resigned and moved to another school, where he taught for a further 22 years until his retirement in 1995. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to 21 sample charges relating to the sexual abuse of girls under his care and was sentenced to three years in prison.
O’Keeffe took legal action for damages, but the courts ruled the department was not liable because the school was under Catholic Church management, even though the State paid Hickey’s salary. She appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which in 2014 found Ireland had failed to protect O’Keeffe from Hickey while at school.
It said the State, when relinquishing control of education, should have been aware of the potential risks and put in place safeguards given its obligation to protect children.
By failing to put in place adequate child-protection measures until the early 1990s at primary and second level, O’Mahony said the court found “the Irish State had a stand-alone culpability for breach of convention rights, independent of any other actor”.
“The Irish government interpreted the ruling as meaning it was only liable for damages in cases where there had been a prior complaint against an abuser,” he said.
O’Mahony said that while O’Keeffe was awarded damages, it was unfortunate that the scheme was “designed from its inception to make it almost impossible to receive compensation”.
“Only one-third of the budget of €31 million allocated to the scheme was paid out. Most of the people abused by the same teacher as Louise O’Keeffe [was] would not have qualified for payments under the scheme – which demonstrates the bizarre logic at work,” he said.
“Very simply, the 2014 O’Keeffe judgment demands that every child who experienced sexual abuse in a defective child protection framework in schools be compensated for that abuse. The Government needs to match words with action for the first time on this matter.”
