Funding boosted for Irish abuse inquiry

The Irish Commission on Child Abuse has had
its funding quadrupled to 12m euros by the Irish government.

The commission is carrying out an inquiry into
cruelty to children in care and is to start listing cases for
private hearings soon.

Chaired by high court judge Mary Laffoy, the
commission was first established by the government in 1999, and has
three functions: to listen to the victims of abuse, to investigate
allegations of abuse, and to publish a public report on its
findings.

So far, more than 2,500 abuse victims are due
to give testimony, with some estimates claiming it will take the
commission up to five years to complete its hearings.

Since the 1930s, more than 20,000 Irish
children have attended 59 state-run industrial or reform schools
but it is understood that most of the statements detail abuse
dating from the 1950s and 1960s.

Survivors’ group Rights of Place has said the
majority of the victims now live in the UK, while another group,
Aislinn, has suggested the number applying to give statements might
be just the tip of the iceberg.