Oireachtas

Some 10,000 residential institution abuse survivors eligible for new health and education supports

Roughly one third of those in line to receive assistance under new legislation live outside the State, says Minister

Minister for Education Norma Foley said she was deeply conscious 'of the enormous trauma that has been endured by all survivors of abuse'. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Marie O'Halloran
Tue Apr 30 2024 - 21:59

An estimated 10,000 people will be eligible for enhanced health and education supports under legislation introduced in the Dáil for survivors of abuse in residential institutions.

Minister for Education Norma Foley said about one third of those eligible for supports live outside the State. An enhanced medical card is part of the package of supports, and for those living outside the State a once-off health support payment of €3,000 will be made “to support their health needs”.

Ms Foley was speaking as she introduced the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill which provides a package of supports “relating to health, education, advocacy and trauma-informed practice”.

The Minister said she was deeply conscious “of the enormous trauma that has been endured by all survivors of abuse, and I know that nothing we do now can ever truly undo the hurt which has been caused”.

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“I know that nothing can ever be said or done to unravel the pain and suffering that ensued from these abuses, and I acknowledge that today.”

Funding of between €500 and €2,000 will be made to survivors engaging in education and the scheme “will also ensure that survivors are not required to pay the student contribution charge where this would otherwise apply”. Recipients will also be eligible for other supports including the Susi student grant scheme.

The Bill also provides for the dissolution of Caranua, the agency established to disburse funding supports to survivors in areas such as health, housing and education from a ring-fenced fund of €110 million plus interest of €1.38 million. Caranua began winding down its operations in 2018 and effectively closed in March 2021, the Ms Foley added.

Sage Advocacy, an independent advocacy organisation which assists older people, vulnerable adults and healthcare patients, will develop and implement a communications and outreach plan “to ensure that as many survivors as possible are made aware of all relevant supports, including the new supports to be provided under this Bill”.

Ms Foley also said the Department of Education will arrange service providers to receive training in trauma-informed practice.

Sinn Féin’s Sorca Clarke asked: “does this Bill deliver the dignity, respect and support” survivors need “because they were not just victims of institutional abuse, cruelty and neglect?”

“They were also neglected by the State. Some of them speak of very negative experiences of dealing with other State redress schemes since then, that have left a deep sense of distrust in the State.”

Ms Clarke pointed out that the Christine Buckley Centre had stated clearly “that we have to be mindful not to exclude people who did not apply for redress”.

She said: “they discovered after the redress closing date that many survivors thought redress was only to do with sexual abuse and not emotional or physical abuse” and she called on the Minister to review that part of the Bill.

Ms Clarke said many survivors believed the proposed one-off payment of €3,000 is simply not enough and “Sinn Féin strongly supports examining whether this payment should be increased”.

Labour TD Aodháin Ó Riordáin said the legislation “falls far short of what survivors want and even further short of what pre-legislative scrutiny by the committee on education asked for. Unfortunately, survivors are left in the position where they feel ignored and their voices unheard.”

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said one survivor had told him the Bill was primarily a means “to close Caranua rather than being about the provision of supports for survivors”.

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran is Parliamentary Correspondent of The Irish Times

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