Mary O’Toole SC was appointed in March to lead the scoping inquiry, which was originally due to report to the minister for education by 7 November 2023 but now has until 7 June 2024.

The purpose of the report is to:

• set out a potential framework for a government response into historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders that could also form a template for government responses elsewhere;
• make recommendations on the scope/breadth and sequencing of such a response or modular response that will, in so far as is possible, best meet outcomes sought by survivors of historical sexual abuse and to suggest terms of reference for same; and
• outline findings of best practice that emerge from workstreams as relevant and appropriate to future practice in the area of child protection and potential restorative justice initiatives by religious orders.

In an update, the scoping inquiry team said it had received a “significant” amount of information from survivors about their experiences of abuse, its impact on their lives and their views on what the government should do next, which “has meant that the process is taking longer than we had anticipated”.

It added: “The scoping inquiry team feels very strongly that the deeply personal accounts and views shared with us must be given the fullest of time and attention for professional consideration and analysis.

“The extension is likely to be disappointing or frustrating for survivors, as many of the participants have already waited a long time to speak about what has happened to them. It is clear that the scoping inquiry cannot do justice to the information that has been gathered without this additional time to collect and analyse these accounts.”