Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said any surviving members of the Spiritan order who allegedly abused pupils at Blackrock College in Dublin should be investigated by An Garda Síochána and subjected to the full rigours of the criminal justice system if it is found that they have a case to answer.
Mr Martin said he believed the first resource that should be deployed by the State is a thorough investigation of allegations of sexual abuse by members of the Spiritans after a radio documentary featuring brothers, Mark and David Ryan, released a torrent of stories of abuse at Blackrock College.
The two brothers both spoke of being sexually abused by priests at the college. After the Documentary on One: Blackrock Boys was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 on November 6th, more students abused at Blackrock College and other schools run by the Spiritans have come forward.
At least 233 men have made allegations of abuse against 77 Irish priests from the Spiritans, some of whom were serial abusers left with unchecked access to children in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, resulting in a trail of shattered lives, scarred by depression, addiction and in some cases, suicide.
Sexual abuse of children by priests was known ‘at all levels’ in Catholic Church, says Archbishop of Dublin
Spiritan abuse survivor group raises concern statutory inquiry could set back justice and support programmes
Catholic Church child protection board received 252 abuse allegations
German Protestant churches riddled with sexual abuse and cover-ups, report finds
Asked about the allegations and whether there should be a Commission of Investigation similar to the Murphy Report into clerical abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese or the Ryan Report into child abuse in industrial schools, Mr Martin said the primary focus should be on a criminal investigation.
“In the first instance, I think it’s very important that the existing mechanisms are used, particularly the criminal justice system and people should be investigated, (so) the gardaí should investigate the situations of abuse,” he said.
“I think what we’ve learned is sickening, it’s shocking in terms of the scale of the abuse and the terrible trauma for people who went into schools and in some instances, these were schools that weren’t in the educational scheme but that doesn’t take from the enormity of what happened.”
Mr Martin said the Government would reflect on possibly holding some sort of commission of inquiry, but it was clear from previous commissions, such as the Ryan Report into child abuse in industrial schools, that they don’t always achieve the desired effect, particularly for abuse victims.
“I would have initiated the industrial schools (Commission of Investigation) – it took an inordinate length of time, but it was valuable, although the therapeutic side of it didn’t work out because of a preponderance of a legal adversarial approach,” he said.
“Many victims and survivors didn’t find that side of it as perhaps as optimal as they thought but, at the same time, they did, because I kept in close contact with them, they did appreciate that it did happen and they were in a position to tell their story.”
Mr Martin said initiating a commission of investigation was something that should not be undertaken lightly given the enormity of what was involved and he reiterated that he would much prefer the focus being placed at least initially on exhausting all avenues of criminal investigation.
“I think one of the issues that we need to learn from all of the inquiries that we have had is to stretch and ensure that the existing mechanisms particularly in criminal justice are deployed fairly relentlessly and in a very focused way,” he said.
“By that I mean, if people have committed terrible crimes here, then they should be fully investigated, and we don’t want to do anything that would compromise any investigations that may be ongoing into such complaints.
Asked whether he believed the state should set up some compensation schemes for the victims of abuse committed in secondary schools, Mr Martin said that he believed primary responsibility for the abuse in schools like Blackrock College rested with the religious orders and they should be liable.
“I don’t believe so (that the state should step into compensate secondary school sexual abuse victims) what we see here is the orders here have taken up responsibility in terms of settlements and so on, and that’s the way it should be.
“They are culpable in this respect in terms of their governance and that is the way it should be but that said, equally, those individuals who are culpable, if they are still alive, and some have passed away, they should be pursued by the gardaí.”
