The chairwoman of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse has said the value of its work would be diminished by the departure of one of its members who has resigned after calls for his removal by victims' groups.
Mr Bob Lewis (60) resigned from the six-member commission this week, saying his position was made untenable by recent publicity unfairly linking him to police investigations into child abuse in residential care homes in Britain. The departure of Mr Lewis, a retired director of social services in Britain, was welcomed yesterday by Mr John Kelly, of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA), which had called for his removal.
At its second public sitting yesterday, the commission's chairwoman, Ms Justice Laffoy, read out Mr Lewis's letter of resignation to the Minister for Education, who established the body.
Mr Lewis emphasised in the letter that he was not under any police investigation. He said that after a long and successful career, he was "deeply hurt that my professional reputation, integrity and standards are being challenged in this way.
"I take this course only after anxious consideration. For my own part, I would have preferred to meet any challenge to my integrity rather than give the opportunity to misguided people to harbour unfounded suspicions about me. Nor do I think that the work of the commission should be disrupted by a process of misguided attacks on the membership. However, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the work of the commission, which I must put first, would best be served if I remove myself as a cause of public controversy, however misguided."
Ms Justice Laffoy said the commission endorsed everything stated in Mr Lewis's letter. "It believes that the Government decision at the outset to include in the membership of the commission a person with hands-on experience of working in and managing children's homes and to source that expertise from outside the jurisdiction was a prudent decision."
Mr Lewis had shown "an unstinting commitment to the commission. His managerial and practical experience and his understanding of and empathy with persons who have been in care have informed and guided us. I believe it is not an exaggeration to say, and it is with regret that I say it, that the value of the work of the commission will inevitably be diminished by the absence of Mr Lewis."
Mr John Kelly, in an interjection from the floor, said his group had not impugned Mr Lewis's reputation. "Someone should have listened to survivors. We weren't consulted. Had we been consulted about the composition of it - and we have concerns about three other people within it - and we don't want that to stop the commission eventually."
Mr Kelly said his group was not listened to when it had queried Mr Lewis's CV, which should on its own have disqualified him, regardless of any police investigations.
Ms Bernadette Fahy, of the Association for the Healing of Institutional Abuse, intervened from the floor, saying Ms Justice Laffoy should "not be bullied by these people". Ms Justice Laffoy said she would not tolerate any informality and asked Mr Kelly to speak in future through his solicitor.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Christine Buckley, of the association, said she was very saddened by Mr Lewis's departure. "I think it's terribly sad that somebody who was in the care system felt compelled to resign and I think he did it in a very honourable and noble way because he didn't want factions within groups undermining the role of the commission."