IRELAND
Newstalk
Jack Quann
The Education Minister says he needs to take legal advice before commenting further on the Louise O’Keeffe judgement at the European Court of Human Rights.
The Court overturned an Irish Supreme Court ruling that the State was not liable for the actions of the principal of her primary school when he abused her in the 1970s.
Ms. O’Keeffe was abused at Dunderrow National School near Kinsale in 1973 when she was aged 9. The principal, Leo Hickey, was later jailed and also paid Louise damages following a civil action.
Hickey was jailed for three years and was ordered to pay Ms. O’Keeffe over €300,000 in damages in a civil action.
Both the High Court and Supreme Courts dismissed a claim of direct negligence against the State because they said the State did not directly employ her abuser. Louise O’Keeffe took her case to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing in Europe that the structures in place did not properly protect her.
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