To date 400 former residents of industrial schools and orphanages have given evidence to the investigation committee of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.
The committee is investigating allegations of abuse in the institutions and now hopes to complete the hearing of evidence by the end of May. Meanwhile, more than 1,100 former residents of the institutions have spoken to the commission's confidential committee about their experiences.
That committee is preparing its final report for submission to the commission board. The commission has two committees: the confidential committee, where people choose to go to tell their story, and the investigation committee, where former residents and members of religious congregations which ran the institutions give evidence in the presence of lawyers, and allegations of abuse are fully inquired into.
The investigation committee is continuing to hear evidence from former residents and members of the religious orders, but is due to complete this by May 30th.
According to a progress report from the committee, it is expected that by then everyone wishing to take part in an investigation committee inquiry will have testified at a hearing or have been interviewed by it.
Since the investigation committee first began hearing evidence in connection with individual institutions in September 2004, it has interviewed former residents from 12 orphanages and industrial schools and representatives of the religious congregation which ran them.
The institutions concerned are Artane, Daingean, Letterfrack, Ferryhouse, Goldenbridge, Newtownforbes, Upton, St Joseph's Industrial Schools in Clifden, Dundalk, Kilkenny, Tralee, and St Patrick's in Kilkenny.
Preliminary hearings, this month and next month, are planned for five more institutions, but these will not be in public as was the case with the previous 12.
The five institutions are St Joseph's Industrial School, Greenmount, Co Cork; Carriglea Park Industrial School, Dún Laoghaire; Marlborough House Industrial School, Glasnevin, Dublin; St Michael's Industrial School, Cappoquin, Co Waterford; and Mount St Joseph's Industrial School, Passage West, Co Cork.
