IRELAND
Irish Independent
By Katherine Donnelly
Saturday April 07 2012
THE Residential Institutions Redress Scheme was set up in 2002 in response to revelations about abuse suffered by children living in industrial schools, reformatories and other institutions run on behalf of the State by Catholic priests, brothers and nuns up to 50 years and more earlier.
The scale of the abuse was graphically outlined in the RTE documentary ‘States of Fear’ in 1999. The scheme awarded compensation based on abuse and injuries suffered, emotional damage, loss of employment and other opportunities, and medical, psychiatric and legal expenses. Almost 17,000 claims were lodged with the scheme, which has now closed. Up to the end of February, there were 14,000 awards, while 943 have been refused. There are 1,902 late applications still being considered.
Awards range from below €50,000 to €300,500 and the average value is €62,860. About half of claimants have received awards valued between €50,000-€100,000.
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