Religious orders tell committee allegations came to light later

From 1940 until their residential institutions closed, 1,735 children were under the care of the Good Shepherd sisters. They have received 422 queries and complaints, including redress applications from former residents.

Sister Claire O'Sullivan, delegated by the congregation to deal with the child abuse issue, told the investigation committee "an awful lot" of what came to light about abuse in their institutions emerged after the institutions had closed.

They had been aware of two isolated incidents in one institution. Both had been dealt with locally. A majority of allegations were in statements to the commission by former residents, she said.

"Where we definitely know it happened, we admit it. Where we definitely know it didn't happen, we deny it, and there is a grey area in between where we are not sure," she said. She accepted the system was "inadequate and placed an impossible burden on individual sisters"

Brother Dennis Minihan, vice provincial of the Irish province of the Presentation Brothers, said they faced over 60 complaints from residents at the former industrial school at Greenmount in Cork which closed in 1959. Just two Brothers who had worked there were alive, and neither was in a position to help investigations, he said. He accepted there had been "a harsh regime" there, but had "not formed a view that systematic abuse took place".

As with Sister O'Sullivan earlier, he quoted figures showing the number of complaints against his congregation rose following the Taoiseach's apology in 1999, again following an announcement that compensation was being considered and when the Redress Board was set up.

Between 1940 and closure in 1959 the congregation had dealt with 900 boys at Greenmount. The emergence of abuse as an issue for the congregation began in 1994, following media attention to the topic. In the 1950s there had been a canonical investigation into a Brother at Greenmount, but Brother Minihan was unaware of details. In 1936 and 1956 incidents of sexual abuse by boys of other boys were dealt with there, he said.

All three congregations contributed to the State redress scheme to avoid years of litigation and get funds more speedily to former residents, the hearing was told by representatives yesterday.