Those who had their childhoods “ruined” by “unforgivable” abuse in industrial and reformatory schools have received an unequivocal apology on behalf of the state from Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
In the fourth such State apology since 1999 to survivors of abuse in religious institutions, Martin told four survivors who were sitting in the Dáil chamber on Wednesday that he was “very sorry for what was done to you”.
“I apologise on behalf of the State for the abuse and neglect that you suffered. What happened to you was wrong, shocking and should never have happened,” Martin said.
The apology was the direct result of a campaign by four survivors who undertook a 51-day hunger strike outside Leinster House last year. Mary Donovan, Mary Dunlevy Greene, Miriam Moriarty Owens and Maurice Patton O’Connell, all survivors of industrial schools, raised concerns about the adequacy of State support for survivors of abuse which were announced in 2023.
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The four campaigners, who were praised by Ministers as the people “who have made today happen”, had ended their hunger strike in November after the Government agreed to broaden support available to them and other survivors.
Survivors of industrial and reformatory schools will now have dedicated health liaison officers and better access to counselling and physiotherapy services. Eligible survivors will have access to a medical card for life, which will not be subject to means testing. There will be more funding made available for education grants for survivors.
While the campaigners had sought a new specific Contributory State Pension for survivors, the Taoiseach said there was “complexity” to that proposal that he and the campaigners had agreed easier and more flexible ways to address the same issue.
New payments of €600 per year will be introduced “as soon as possible” to fund “informal learning, self-development and wellbeing activities” for survivors.
Survivors will also now be prioritised for social housing, and will have access to community welfare services that could help cover funeral costs.
Tánaiste Simon Harris told the survivors that they had “brought about a renewed focus on the terrible experience of all survivors and a further acknowledgment by the State of the dreadful harm that was done to children.”
“The State has sometimes compounded the wrongs of the past by failing to admit them quickly enough and failing to comprehensively acknowledge our part in them.”
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan confirmed in the Dáil that survivors do not have a criminal record “by virtue of their detention in any industrial school”.
O’Callaghan added that written certificates can be provided to those who wish to have further confirmation.
