Cabinet agrees to statutory inquiry into historical abuse at schools run by religious orders
The Government has agreed to begin establishing a statutory inquiry into sexual abuse at boarding and day schools.
Education Minister Norma Foley on Tuesday brought a 700-page report by senior counsel Mary O'Toole to Cabinet, which will be published later today.
It is expected that the report will focus on a number of religious orders and schools, with potentially thousands of people affected.
The Government is in discussions with survivors groups on the shape of the inquiry today, with the expectation that its terms of reference will be wide-ranging.
Last year, the Spiritan Congregation apologised to victims of abuse and said an independent group would engage with survivors at its schools and institutions, including Dublin’s Blackrock College.
The abuse allegations go back as far as the 1970s.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet earlier on Tuesday, Taoiseach Simon Harris thanked Ms Foley for how she had “handled this extraordinarily important, sensitive issue”.
He said she was engaging with survivors of sexual abuse and this would be the approach taken by the Government.
“It is a statement of fact that the minister has received the scoping report that has been carried out,” he said.
“But she and I and everybody in government know in terms of the next steps, the people we want to know first are the survivors, are the representatives that the minister has been engaging with, and I can assure you that’s the way in which we will proceed.”