The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (‘the Commission’) has today been granted leave from the High Court to exercise its amicus curiae (‘friend of the court’) function in a significant case focused on redress for survivors of historic child sexual abuse in schools.
As amicus curiae in the case of PD v. The Minister for Education, the Commission will bring its experience to the issue of historic abuse, and how redress should be provided to victims of historic abuses in schools within the human rights framework under the Revised Ex Gratia Scheme (‘the Scheme’).
The case focuses on the requirement under the Scheme for survivors to have, on or before 1 July 2021, issued legal proceedings against the State seeking damages for sexual abuse in day schools before 1991 and 1992 in primary and post-primary schools respectively, and following the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in O’Keeffe v Ireland.
The Commission’s predecessor, the Irish Human Rights Commission, intervened as a third party in the O’Keeffe case and submitted written observations to the European Court of Human Rights in 2011. Those submissions were referred to in the court’s judgment, which addressed the failure by the State to protect Ms O’Keeffe from sexual abuse in a national school in 1973 and to put in place a system of adequate and effective remedies for that abuse.
Since that time, the Commission has engaged directly with the Council of Europe’s highest body (its Committee of Ministers), with the Minister for Education, with the State appointed Independent Assessor, with the UN Human Rights Council and with Oireachtas Members in relation to the human rights requirements for survivors to be able to access redress.
The Commission considers this case to have significance for the human rights of survivors of historic abuse in Irish schools.
Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission stated:
“At the heart of this issue stand victims seeking redress for the State’s failure to protect them against sexual abuse, and who are met with onerous and arbitrary barriers in accessing this redress.
“Louise O’Keeffe eventually won her European Court of Human Rights case, but due to the State’s narrow interpretation of her 2014 ruling, survivors of historic child sexual abuse in schools still face significant barriers in accessing redress.
“Since our establishment, we have used our legal powers to highlight the vital need to have human rights-compliant redress schemes that are accessible for survivors of abuse. This work continues but we are increasingly working in a context where survivors are getting older and need urgent resolution of the human rights questions raised in this case. It is important that these issues are clarified as a matter of urgency as the Scheme is due to close in July 2023.”
ENDS/
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Clarkin, IHREC Communications Manager,
01 852 9641 / 087 468 7760
sarah.clarkin@ihrec.ie
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Editor’s Note
As the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is now formally involved in the proceedings of the case we are precluded from making any further comment as the matter is before the High Court.
Where written submissions are made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to the Superior Courts in amicus curiae cases they will be made available on www.ihrec.ie after the case has been heard.
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures.