GARDAI in Drogheda have confirmed they are investigating eight further complaints against a former employee of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. The complaints have been lodged since January and relate to incidents alleged to have occurred years ago.
A decision is still awaited from the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to 16 files on complaints gardai received in 1995. Those files have been with the DPP since the beginning of this year and a decision is expected in the next few weeks.
The new complaints have been made by eight individuals and brings to 24 the number of complainants about the former employee. All the allegations go back several years and are believed to have involved boys in their early teens and young men.
Meanwhile, Dr Miriam Hederman O'Brien, the chairwoman of the external review group established by the hospital to examine its response to the allegations, says the group is still accepting submissions. It was established last November by the chief executive officer of the hospital, Mr Basil Cronin, and will also assess the current protocols, practices and procedures in place and make recommendations as appropriate.
Dr Hederman O'Brien says the group is operating independently of any inquiries by either the Garda or the Irish Medical Council. She hopes a report can be compiled as soon as possible and copies are expected to be sent to the Department of Health and the North Eastern Health Board, although the decision to publish will remain with the hospital which commissioned it.