Oireachtas committee hears call on Caranaua chief executive to resign

IRELAND
The Irish Times

Kitty Holland

The chief executive of Caranua, the independent statutory organisation charged with managing a fund to improve the lives of survivors of institutional abuse, should “step aside” an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Senator Lynn Ruane called on Mary Higgins to resign from her role, at the Education Committee on Tuesday. All committee members present said they had had significant complaints from survivors about their engagement with Caranua.

Ms Higgins said she was not aware of the complaints and it was difficult for Caranua to address them as a result.

Caranua, which means ‘new friend’, was established under the 2012 Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act, to manage a €110 million fund provided by the religious, to improve survivors’ lives. Survivors can apply to the fund for grants for such services as counselling, medical treatment, education or therapies.

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