Inquiry into Child Abuse, News Letter, December 17, 2010

Inquiry into Child Abuse

News Letter
December 17, 2010

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Inquiry-into-child-abuse.6663706.jp

First minister Peter Robinson made the announcement following a meeting of the NI executive

AN inquiry will be held into historic institutional child abuse in Northern Ireland, First Minister Peter Robinson has announced.

Victims of alleged clerical wrongdoing have campaigned for months for a probe similar to that which unmasked widespread cases in the Republic.The Ryan Report found that rape and sexual molestation were "endemic" in Catholic church-run industrial schools and orphanages in the Republic last year.

The taskforce will include nine departments headed by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) and the Department of Health.

A spokeswoman for OFMDFM last night did not rule out the possibility of Kincora Boys School in east Belfast being part of the investigation.

"It will cover all institutions, the terms of reference for the task force include looking at the scope of the inquiry," she said.

The inquiry is expected to report to the assembly before the July recess.

However, Mr Robinson said he did not envisage an inquiry of the scale of Bloody Sunday.

"If it is an inquiry that is more investigative which can be done with fewer personnel then it is very much a smaller figure," he said.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness added: "I would expect many, many more people who see the opportunity presented to them to come forward and have a crime inflicted against them recorded and be part of a legal process which will in the time ahead hopefully give closure to people."

In May last year a report by the Ryan Commission revealed a catalogue of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in the Irish Republic by priests and nuns as well as attempts to cover up the truth and move offenders between parishes.

Northern Ireland victims have met the OFMDFM to seek a similar process to the Ryan Commission.

Contact has been made with the police. Civil servants will represent the departments but they can seek specialist expertise.

The task force will report by the end of March on meeting the needs of victims. That could include counselling or other services.

It will hold talks with victims and examine experiences in other jurisdictions.

The announcement was made as the Executive breaks for Christmas.

Thousands of people signed the Justice for the Victims of Institutional Abuse in NI petition, which was handed to SDLP assembly member Carmel Hanna.

The Ryan Report took submissions from 2,000 people who said they had suffered physical and sexual abuse while in the care of Catholic-run institutions in Ireland.