THE ALLIANCE YEAR IN REVIEW

The Alliance Website www.alliancesupport.org is without doubt a great tool allowing us to inform our members in England-Canada-America and even AbuDabui as well as here in Ireland on all aspects of victim support and relevant matters.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Aim of the Alliance is to access all Social, Educational
Counselling, Family Tracing and Legal Services for Victims of Institutional Abuse

From January 2004 we attempted to change the way that the Government dealt with Support Groups in order to bring more accountability and expertise to those who needed it both in the various Support Areas and the National Office. We wanted the government to have a clear strategy rather than the ad hoc system that is so divisive and counterproductive to many survivors.

Our efforts throughout January to March 2004 in meeting with so many who asked to see us were very fruitful. In Sligo-Galway-Clare-Limerick-Cork-Kilkenny-Roscommon and Dublin we found mostly all wanted us to raise the same issues and questions with the Redress Board- Commission-Government-Solicitors or at the National Office.

Visiting many in England in March 2004 we were to experience the very real fear that they were the forgotten victims by all agencies (including the support Groups) and that they were not properly informed. There was also annoyance that their names and addresses were taken at meetings in various parts of the country and used as showing support for Groups without proper representation. One needs only to look at the World Wide Web to see the hostility by these victims.

In April we were ever present in support of a victim who went on hunger strike. We are delighted to know that a mechanism was finally found to ensure that a positive outcome was achieved for the person concerned.

The Alliance submission to the Churches Child Protection Policy was well received and we are grateful to both Ruth and June Jordan for their efforts in this regard. It is encouraging to note that the work of the Advisory Team on Child Protection has now been accepted by the Bishops Conference.

We attended a weekend IT Course in Galway in connection with the website in June 2004 and further IT Training locally.

The Commission

Mr Justice Sean Ryan?s Review of the Commission was the most important event this year for Victim Support. His Legalistic and clinical review of what he wanted to do was well shown in his Report dated November 2003. Many of you were not happy with his findings (or with our acceptance of the method of selection?) and we did raise these and other issues with the Commission when we met on the 5th March 2004. There are still issues to be raised about the Investigation Commission and we will soon be informed of these. The issue of the Christian Brothers Challenge in the High Court and their concerns at the naming of those Brothers against whom allegations are made and who are dead has been settled in that Mr Justice Ryan (7.11 The Ryan Report) says ?The inquiry into child abuse can survive a prohibition on naming individuals.? But it cannot survive a prohibition on naming institutions. Given that many of you insisted that those complained of should be named (after all it was the Religious who failed to investigate or inquire about these and other issues complained of over the years) you were naturally disappointed at this ruling.

Many believe that the Review was mainly to do with Costs and victims views were less important. The Committee would like to assure all of you who raised this and other questions about the Review itself and the mechanism in reaching its conclusions that we have at all times been struck by the professionalism and willingness by all of the Commissions staff to help and assist us wherever and whenever we have requested.

The Residential Institutions Redress Board

The Board carried out a series of meetings in England throughout March and April 2004. These meetings were co-ordinated through the Outreach Workers and were of necessity limited by numbers in places at times. None the less the overall effect of these meetings was very positive and all agreed that its content was very informative.

It is fair to say that the Hearings are and have been going very well throughout the year and where there are questions these have been well answered through the various News Letters published every so often. (Remember that if you retain a Solicitor- then they should be your first port of call with any matters relating to your particular case) The Committee Members in your areas cannot act between you and the Redress Board or other agencies). We have published the list of the 13 New Institutions added to the schedule for the Redress Board. For those of you who have been disappointed that your particular Hospital or School was not added we continue to raise these questions with the Departments and will keep you informed. We look forward to meeting with some of you in January to discuss this and other relevant issues.

Distillery Building Hearings

The Alliance was well prepared for the hearings in the Distillery Buildings. All our meetings throughout Ireland and England with so many of you were very important in this submission. These various hearings were very important for various reasons. We learned so much about the emergence of Child Abuse and the Government and Religious Responses to its causes. There was some stark evidence both from Religious and Victim Support Group?s. We were to learn here also about other Support Groups and their various funding (which were never discussed at National Office Meetings) and also about the methods of Support etc. We are very pleased to note that as a direct result of our evidence at the Distillery Buildings on the 22 July 2004 the Alliance has grown to over three hundred strong. On the 22 July 2004 our numbers was 172 and falling as a result of those attending the Redress Board wishing to exile themselves from any other contact. Not everyone accepted our view that for those who came to the Alliance for Support that they did not want publicity or to be group together with others who were in Institutions. Many of you are very private and were shocked to learn of what was reported by others at the hearings as to the discussions in the bars and clubs throughout Ireland about these various Institutions.

Lately too you have asked us to raise matters with the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy. These we will do and report back to you once completed. The Christian Brothers will be giving evidence soon in public and we await their report. On other issues raised by many of you I wrote directly to the Leadership Team of the Christian Brothers about these issues but have yet to receive a reply.

The Committee would like to thank Mary (former Chairperson) and Victor Norris, Mr Tom Wall and Mr James Quinn for their support at the Distillery Hearings. We would also like to thank the Committee Members from Sligo, Galway-Clare and London for attending the hearing at the Commission on the 9th June 2004. Your work and support for others is invaluable and thankfully we see and hear of your efforts.

Attitude towards the Church

Many of you are saddened that you no longer can attend your church because of the earlier treatment by the various religious congregations. This is a particular worry for those of you who are elderly and infirm and for whom the church is now a strange place to go to. You complain also of the churches strange ways from that to which you were once familiar with and your feelings of wanting to return somehow despite all that. We do raise these issues and I know that these are taken very serious by the various Religious Orders and the Church and that soon there may be a response to our queries.

Churches Support for Victims Groups

We cover this topic at most meetings. We can only again say that the Church has in the past given money to various groups for whatever reason. The Alliance Support Group has not received any financial support from the Church.

AVOCA HOUSE

This house was made available to SOCA UK for those visiting Dublin from the UK. We are not in a position at this stage to give any details about this house. It is hoped however that very soon we will be able to.

Other Support Groups

Many of you now look to the Alliance only for support whilst many others do continue to attend meetings of other groups as well. We have no complaints about that at all and thank you all for your support for the Alliance. Your attitudes towards the Alliance and other support groups have changed also and we note your views on the links on the website to various groups and organisations which you are happy with. Your positive support is welcomed and does allow us to have an open house approach to everyone. This is important to the Committee and allows us the scope to assist where we can.

Government Ministers and Agencies

We were not successful in meeting with ministers this year. Ireland?s position towards Europe meant that the Government were very busy and we must have the record of receiving the most ?The Minister Regrets? letters of any group.

The National Office

In September we received all of the Minutes of the National Office under the Freedom of Information Act. We know many of you were annoyed that we had to pay for such a privilege but for most of you it meant that you were again able to follow what was happening.

The new Administrator of the National Office is Mr Ray Maloney - we wish him well in his new post.

Education

This is a very good success story for all who have applied. We encourage everyone who is eligible to do so. We are grateful also that James Quinn has agreed to represent the Committee on this very important Committee.

Department of Education and Science
Redress Unit

The Alliance are particularly grateful to everyone in the Redress Unit for their help and support throughout the year. It has not been easy for them I know and their willingness to assist us is very welcomed.

Reminder of our Aims and Objectives

The Alliance Victim Support Group has asked that all funding from the Government to Support Groups should be conditioned on them having in place healing and reconciliation.

We have also asked that at the time for the publication of the Commissions Final Report by Mr. Justice Sean Ryan a recommendation should be made that all Support Groups be disbanded, National Office for Victims and other Support Outlets such as Right of Place Cork and Aislinn Centre in Dublin be closed. We see it as an important event that those who have become dependent on such outlets and groups be fully integrated into mainstream society once again.

Religious Orders who have been funding Support Groups in the past number of years have had a part in developing and encouraging the system of dependency now in existence. Your activities have encouraged the group mentality and fostered divisions and segregation among victims and survivors. You saw your support in monetary terms because you believed that that is what was being asked of you. You failed to question the accountability for and the qualifications of those who approached you. It is difficult for us to know how you determined you support for some and not all groups. It is perhaps noteworthy to mention here that of those groups who make up the umbrella of CORI some were funding Groups whilst no apparent discussions was ever undertaken among the Religious as to how best to support victims or groups.

We in the Alliance would have wished to have seen the Religious at the heart of any support for those who need it. We look to you now for support. We want you to help us in bringing closure to what is developing into an industry of support for only a few who have developed a dependency on other survivors. We want you to support us in having professionals at the helm of both victim support and the areas and centres where victims meet. It is imperative that in all areas where victim?s needs are to be met we should insist that only those who are qualified to deal with them should do so. We must not allow or encourage the establishment of centres or offices to be administrated by anyone other than professionals. These places must have an atmosphere that will allow all victims to visit and use and not be solely for any one group or administrated by anyone connected to any one group. In this way we will begin to develop a strategy that can allow victims to move on and re-enter the society where they can rightly claim to have benefited from the support given to them.

We acknowledge that Government, Religious, Victims, other groups and agencies all have a part to play in closure and reconciliation. We all have a need to move away from the emotive phrases of victim and survivor. Before we can do that we must ensure that we continue to insist that all those who will need support for some time to come will receive it, and that support will be best received from professional bodies if the most vulnerable are to have any chance of moving away from the dependency culture of support centres or support groups.

The Committee Structure is the backbone of the Alliance Support Group. In your own areas you deal with Local Authorities of every kind and it is encouraging to note their willingness to help and assist with all kinds of problems and difficulties for our victims. Their help and support is very welcomed and acknowledged. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the successes we had this year.

Many of you will be meeting new family relatives for the first time over this holiday and we acknowledge the good work done by Barnardos in this regard.

To you all have a Happy and Peaceful New Year for 2005.