DUBLIN (The Daily Mail) – More than 15,000 boys may have been sexually abused in Irish schools between the 1960s and 1990s it has been revealed, as a major new investigation is to be launched.
The government announced a Commission of Investigation will be established on foot of a “truly shocking” scoping inquiry that uncovered 2,400 allegations of sexual abuse in over 300 religious schools over four decades.
The claims refer to 884 alleged perpetrators, of whom less than half – around 400 – are still alive.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said the report was a “harrowing read” as he paid tribute to the “courage and bravery” of those who came forward. Abuse rates were particularly high in special schools, with 590 allegations involving 190 alleged abusers in 17 schools.
But it is feared those figures are just the tip of the iceberg, with the CSO estimating that as many as 15,300 boys were sexually abused in Irish schools – not just those run by religious orders – during the period in question.
Gardaí are now bracing themselves for a deluge of fresh allegations, security sources have told the Mail.
Some survivors expressed the view that “a paedophile ring was operating” in their school, with multiple staff members involved in either carrying out or facilitating sexual abuse.
The scoping inquiry report, conducted by barrister Mary O’Toole, was commissioned last year following revelations of sexual abuse at Blackrock College in Dublin.
The Taoiseach said the abuse “is a shadow of our past that continues to loom large in so many lives, so many families, so many communities”.
Noting the report recommended redress be paid to survivors, the Fine Gael leader said, “It’s really important that we get the structure right and that the next steps that we take are absolutely survivor-centered.”
“I want to say this on behalf of the government, and I want to say this on behalf of the people of Ireland: We will get this right,” Fine Gael leader added.
Education Minister Norma Foley called the report “a harrowing document” that “contains participants” descriptions of appalling sexual abuse and violence.