HSE 'regrets' failure to provide victim counselling

Reaction:The Health Service Executive has said it fully accepts and "regrets" the failure to provide counselling services to victims of child abuse in the Ferns diocese at the height of the clerical abuse scandal.

In a statement yesterday the health authority - of which the South Eastern Health Board was formerly a part - said "counselling services did not come into existence until the mid-1990s and it is a service that has been developed since then".

It noted the health board had "always acted on every child abuse case reported to the board without exception and the HSE continues to do so today".

Welcoming the publication of the Ferns report, the HSE said the SEHB also took a "very proactive approach" to child protection in the 1990s and was the first health board to develop joint child abuse notification guidelines.

Nonetheless, the authority said, "We acknowledge the pain that victims are going through and regret if any former SEHB action contributed to that."

Expressing its commitment to implementing the recommendations of the report, the HSE said that since the mid-1990s childcare resources had increased dramatically. It pointed out that there were now over 50 professional staff working with children and families in the Wexford area compared to just four social workers in the late 1980s.

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland also welcomed the report yesterday, saying its legacy "must be that Ireland becomes a place where disclosure of sexual abuse is treated seriously and where survivors are not condemned when they do speak out".

While it commended the survivors who testified, the group said it also wished to recognise those who had not yet chosen to speak, those who were not heard when they tried to, and those who remained silent to their graves or emigrated.

The Cari (Children at Risk in Ireland) Foundation has backed calls for legislative reform that would make the reporting of child abuse compulsory.

The charity's national clinical director Alan Corbett said the Children's First national guidelines on reporting child protection concerns should be translated into mandatory requirements. "It should be a crime to fail to report your concerns to the Garda or the Health Service Executive."

Cari also called for greater provision of therapy and counselling to children and families affected by child sexual abuse.

The Church of Ireland Bishop of Ferns, the Rt Revd Peter F Barrett, expressed his "empathy, prayer and support" for those whose abuse was dealt with in the report. He added: "To Bishop Eamonn Walsh, apostolic administrator of the diocese of Ferns, I also reaffirm my support and prayer for the faithful clergy and parishioners of the diocese who, equally appalled by its contents, must not in any way be associated with its grave information at this time of profound distress."

"We must all renew our efforts to defend and to develop the rights of children and vulnerable young adults to be nurtured in the love of God in a caring and safe context."