The Catholic archdiocese of Dublin has failed to put in place a support system for victims of clerical child sex abuse, as required under the Irish Bishops' guidelines published in January 1996.
It is understood that just five of the 26 Catholic dioceses in Ireland have done so.
Last night Mrs Marie Collins, who along with fellow abuse victim Mr Ken Reilly has been attending meetings of the Dublin archdiocese's independent advisory panel on the issue, said they had discovered 10 days ago that the guidelines were not being followed in this respect.
She was "appalled that this vital area was being neglected", not least as it was being claimed "again and again" that the guidelines were being followed to the letter. "Once more we were misled," she said.
She and Mr Reilly had asked the archdiocese to "go public and admit" the omission, while putting in place the required structures. They also wanted to see "if they [the archdiocese] could for once admit something without being forced". There has been no response from the archdiocese since, nor was there any comment available last night.
The 1996 guidelines stipulate that "each bishop or religious superior should appoint a specific person - the Support Person - to be available to those who allege that they have suffered abuse and their families. The role of this person will be to assist those wishing to make a complaint of child sexual abuse, to facilitate them in gaining access to information and help, and to represent their concerns on an ongoing basis."
Mrs Collins is a trustee of the One in Four organisation, which assists people who have been sexually abused. She mentioned the archdiocese's failure to implement the 1996 guidelines to the group's director, Mr Colm O'Gorman.
He issued a statement yesterday in which he said that "what is once again abundantly clear is that despite the often expressed care and concerns for the welfare of victims, the Catholic hierarchy has failed to show credible intent of providing real and meaningful responses to the experiences of people who have been raped and abused by its clergy.
"That they have failed to follow even their own internal procedures exposes yet again the abject and total failure of the hierarchy to demonstrate the integrity, commitment and competence to respond to the scandal of clerical sexual abuse.
"What is once again clear is that the church's response is nothing more than a botched attempt to protect itself and its public image: that its guidelines have little to do with the protection of children and the welfare of adult victims but instead are part of a cynical PR exercise.
"It is finally time for everyone to accept that the Catholic church is incapable of and unwilling to appropriately address this issue," he said.
He called for legislation to "ensure that every institution in Ireland is required to put in place child protection procedures that are laid down by statute".
