Claims of abuse hit 14,768 at deadline

John Burns

ALMOST 3,000 claims for compensation have been made in less than a week by former residents of orphanages and industrial schools who claim they were abused.

This means the state�s compensation bill may have jumped by as much as �225m in one week � more than �100m over what religious orders put into the compensation kitty.

Answering questions in the Dail on the compensation scheme 10 days ago, Mary Hanafin, the education minister, said about 12,000 claims had been made. But by the time the Residential Institutions Redress Board stopped taking claims at midnight on Thursday, the total had risen to 14,768.

The average value of awards to date is �76,500, with the largest award being �300,000. According to its November newsletter, the board has completed 4,267 cases so far, with 4,160 offers of compensation being made � only five of which have been rejected.

A mere 17 �victims� have had no award � 0.4% of the total � with a further 90 applications being refused because they weren�t eligible.

If this pattern is repeated across the entire case load, it will mean a payout of a lot more than �1 billion to abuse victims, confirming the highest estimates made at the start of the scheme. This figure does not even include legal fees, which could add another �200m to the bill.

Criticism over the 2002 deal the Department of Education and Science agreed with 18 religious orders is now likely to increase. Based on government estimates of 4,000 victims being paid a figure of at most �500m, the orders stumped up a mere �128m in cash and properties in return for legal immunity. The board pay-out dwarfs the army deafness compensation scheme, which totalled �300m.

The last-minute surge in applications came despite the fact that the redress scheme was set up three years ago and victims have had since 2002 to put in their claims.

Hanafin says her department will extend the terms of office of board members and the review committee for a further two years to enable them to deal with the remaining applications. The board clears up 180 cases a month, so it could take up to five years to finish at current rates.

Staff have complained that some applicants have acted unacceptably in their dealings with the board. In its newsletter the board said: �Abusive language has been used and threats of violence made both over the telephone and in person. The staff endeavour to provide a courteous service and will not tolerate such abusive conduct.� The board also warned that if staff were threatened again, the cases involved would be moved to the end of the list.

Some 128 orphanages and industrial schools were listed on the government�s schedule of institutions in 2002, but last year a further 13 were added and last July another three. Of the 4,175 awards made, 16 have been in the �200,000-�300,000 band, with 827, or 20%, being �100,000 or mo