Irish redress scheme

LAW IN ACTION BBC Radio 4's Law In Action Tuesday 7 July 1600 BST On Radio 4 and online Listen to the programme

How do you provide justice to victims of child abuse when that abuse took place 30, 40, even 50 years ago?

That is a question Ireland has been grappling with ever since the discovery in 1999 of endemic abuse in schools, orphanages and other institutions run for the state by Catholic nuns, priests and brothers.

The abuse was exposed in a documentary - called States of Fear - by the Irish journalist Mary Raftery.

The then Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, responded by making a public apology to victims on behalf of the state.

He then set up the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.

Headed by Judge Sean Ryan, it ran for 10 years and drew on testimony from 3,000 people.

In 2002, the Irish government created the Residential Institutions Redress Board to provide compensation for victims of abuse at institutions run by 18 religious orders.

So far, it has processed claims from 13,395 people.

Cross-examination

The Irish redress scheme is based on models developed in Canada to compensate aboriginal children who were removed from their families and sent to state institutions.

It does not require the claimant to prove legal fault and the burden of proof is lower than the "balance of probability" test used in civil courts.

Claimants must prove that they have suffered physical or psychological injuries consistent with abuse.

Clive Coleman and Mary Raftery at Dublin's Office of the Taoiseach

The scheme is designed to avoid the kind of cross-examination techniques used in civil and criminal courts.

However, BBC Radio 4's Law in Action has heard from people with first-hand experience of the redress scheme who are concerned that it is not treating all claimants with an appropriate degree of sensitivity.

Matthias Kelly QC has helped more than 200 clients through the redress process.

He told Law in Action: "I'm aware of cases where the questioning has been insensitive.

"In some cases it has been offensive, and above all deeply upsetting to the applicant before the board."

The Ryan Report

Another problem with the scheme is that it officially closed in 2005.

It is still processing a backlog of more than a thousand applications, but late applicants can only apply for compensation if they can prove "exceptional circumstances".

Shoes and photos outside the Dail in Dublin in memory of victims

This usually means that physical or mental illness prevented them from applying.

However, the Irish government is under pressure to reopen the scheme following the publication in May of the final report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, commonly known as the Ryan Report.

Since the publication of the Ryan Report, Irish centres in the UK say they have been "inundated" with enquiries from people wanting to apply for redress.

Sally Mulready, the founder of the Women's Survivors Group in the UK, said: "At the London Irish Centre alone we have had 150 people contact us since May.

"The kind of people we're getting coming through are people who had lost all contact with Ireland, had no connection with the Irish community, knew nothing about the redress board, nothing about the Ryan Commission."

She said: "It took 10 years to produce the Ryan Report.

"The survivors were given three years in which to make an application to the redress board.

"The scheme was not properly advertised in the UK.

"It needs to be reopened for five years from 2009 onwards."

Controversial catches

Solicitor Eileen McMahon represents a 73-year-old man who was recently turned down for a late application to the redress board.

She said: "You can't expect somebody to see an advert on a Tuesday and apply on the Friday - you can't just rush somebody.

"I've got some clients that I started six years ago that are still going through because we have to go at the pace that they can go at."

Another controversial aspect of the redress scheme is a so-called "gagging clause", which bans those who receive redress from talking about their experience of the scheme or from divulging how much compensation they were awarded.

Dublin's police HQ: 'Let justice be done though the heavens may fall.'

The penalty for breaching this confidentiality agreement is a fine of up to 25,000 euros and a two-year jail sentence.

Matthias Kelly QC believes the confidentiality clause should be amended so that records of hearings are published with only the claimant's details removed to protect their privacy.

He told Law in Action: "This is a public scheme after all.

"It is taxpayers' money, and I have not the slightest doubt that the overwhelming majority of the population of Ireland want to see the right thing done by these people."

The redress scheme is largely funded by the Irish taxpayer, with the religious orders currently contributing just 10% of the compensation and administration costs.

However, the Irish government has ordered an audit of the religious orders' assets and is committed to securing a larger financial contribution to the redress scheme.

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Contact the programme

If you have thoughts on any of the topics we have covered, or any other legal issues, you can contact us by email at [e-mail], or by post at Law In Action, BBC White City, Wood Lane, London W12 7TS.

Law In Action was be broadcast on Tuesday 30 June 2009 at 1600 BST on BBC Radio 4 and repeated on Thursday 2 July at 2002 BST.