28th May 2009: Open letter regarding Ryan Report responses from Victim's groups.
A week has passed since the publishing of the Ryan Report. Today we are finally beginning to see and hear what should have been seen and heard a week ago.
We welcome the appointment of the Minister for Children to take charge of the implementation of the 24 recommendations. We welcome that the government has set a deadline of the end of July for an implementation plan.
Many of the congregations and CORI, after a week of resistance, have acknowledged that their part in restitution is far from over. They have indicated that they will hand over all files to the State. This is essential.
It remains unclear to us how the State will make an assessment of the resources of the orders. Transparency through the records of the Charities Commissioners may not be sufficient. The government has stated that they are to place an “onus on [the congregations] to outline, in a transparent way, what resources they have available, and the contribution they intend to make”. We call on government to take control of this situation rather than to depend on the initiative of the congregations.
We call on the government to make clear how the substantial assets recently put in Trusts are to be audited and included in an assessment of an order’s resources. CORI have said that everything will be on the table, this must include the Trusts. We call on the government to initiate a review into the existence of such trusts, their transparency and accountability to the State and the roles religious orders continue to play in them.
The Minister for Finance has stepped forward to insist that the religious will not retain control over the spending of any restitution funds. This is a relief and we now need to see a firm commitment from government and an outline of how this is to be achieved and managed.
The President and now the Minister for Justice have said that they want criminal actions to be instigated against perpetrators who are still alive. This is also welcome and should not have had to be fought for.
We call on the Taoiseach as a matter of urgency to address the question of the criminal convictions of the children who were committed by the courts to these institutions.
We are deeply saddened that it has taken a week of further trauma, campaigning and struggle, particularly from survivors to achieve all of these. Even after the undeniable realities laid bare in the Ryan Report many of the arms of the Church continued to resist these initiatives and continued the patterns of emotional bullying, protectionism and self-preservation. The State initially showed little leadership and clarity about its role and there were elements of deference to the Church in their responses over the past week. These responses must themselves be reflected upon and lessons learnt.
Let these initiatives not be watered down, let survivors not be betrayed again, let old patterns not reassert themselves.
We the undersigned call on Government to meet its duty to survivors and future generations by administering care, education and welfare on all our behalf, today and in the future, in an accountable and transparent manner.
Yours Sincerely
Christine Buckley, Director of Aislinn Education and Support Service, former inmate of Goldenbridge Institution
Carmel McDonnell-Byrne, Director of Aislinn Education and Support Service, former inmate of Goldenbridge Institution
Bernadette Fahy, Co-founder of Aislinn Education and Support Service, former inmate of Goldenbridge
John Kelly, Coordinator of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA), former resident of Daingean, Co. Offaly
Patrick Walsh, SOCA UK Spokesperson, former resident of Artane Industrial School
Anthony O’Farrell, SOCA Liaison to the Commission to Inquire into Institutional Abuse, former resident Artane Industrial School
Fiona Neary, Director, Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI)