A British expert appointed by the Government to the sixmember Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse has resigned following calls for his removal by victims' groups.
Mr Bob Lewis (60), a retired director of social services in the UK, said his position had been made untenable by recent publicity which unfairly linked him to police investigations into child abuse in residential care homes in the UK.
Mr Lewis insists that he has not been the subject of any police investigation.
Irish Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA) and its UK counterpart called for Mr Lewis to step down after Lancashire police last week announced details of an investigation into child abuse allegations dating back 30 years in care homes, including a special school, in which he previously worked.
Mr Lewis was deputy head of the approved school for pregnant girls in Preston, Lancashire, for 10 months in 1970.
He told The Irish Times yesterday that he hoped his resignation would allow the commission to proceed with its work without the distraction of continuing challenges to his role.
"People are being urged not to co-operate with the commission because, wrongly, the impression has been given that I am in some way implicated in inquiries related to child abuse in Britain", he said.
"I can't see how the commission can do its job if a substantial number of people choose not to co-operate. Therefore, if it makes the commission's task easier in reporting accurately to the Government on the extent and nature of abuse in institutions by me not being there, then I feel the honourable thing to do is to stand down." He said he stood by his "proven track record".
Mr Lewis was assistant director of social services in Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council between 1974 and 1981 and director there from 1987 until his retirement last year. From 1982 to 1987 he was director of social services in Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council.
He was awarded a CBE in 1993 for his services to the community.
Survivors' groups have acknowledged that there are no allegations against Mr Lewis, but they insist that his past work in approved homes made him an inappropriate choice for the commission. Mr Lewis firmly rejects the suggestion that he is tainted by his professional background.
He was appointed to the six-member commission last summer, as the Government wanted an expert from outside the jurisdiction. He was recommended by a representative of the British government.
The commission, chaired by Ms Justice Laffoy, was set up to investigate child abuse in State institutions and religious-run schools since the 1940s following public outrage over revelations in RTE's States of Fear documentary series. It will hold its second public sitting today.
Irish SOCA has urged its members to boycott the commission's hearings because it disagrees with its terms of reference and objects to the fact that any evidence given by alleged abusers cannot be used in future court cases.