Further delays for review of compensation scheme for victims of abuse

The government has sought its fourth delay on updating the Council of Europe on its progress in reviewing the compensation scheme set up following a landmark court decision six years ago.

The scheme was established after the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the State had failed to protect Louise O’Keeffe from the abuse she suffered in primary school in the 1970s.

In 2019, an independent ruling found that the State had misinterpreted the ruling and was found to be imposing “illogical” conditions on victims of abuse seeking redress.

This prompted an apology from then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and since then the scheme has been frozen pending a review, which is now being delayed for the fourth time.

The government has delayed its next update to the Council of Europe until 8 December on the basis that the formation of the new government and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays.

Conor O’Mahony of the Child Law Clinic at University College Cork told the Irish Examiner: “The government has now spent over one year conducting a review that should have taken no more than a couple of months.

“I call on the minister for education to conclude the review and re-open the scheme without further delay, so that full details can be provided to the Council of Europe in the next progress report”.

The Department of Education told the Irish Examiner that the review of the scheme still requires careful deliberation due to the “complexity and sensitivity” of the issues involved.