Victims of abuse by midlands schoolteacher Donal Dunne have welcomed a statement by Catholic bishops that they are prepared to meet their responsibilities to all who suffered abuse.
The bishops were responding to an announcement by the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, that the Government had decided to set up a compensation tribunal for those abused as children in residential care.
The Dunne victims said the proposed exclusion from the tribunal's remit of people such as themselves - children abused in ordinary primary and secondary schools - was "unjust, immoral and deeply hurtful".
Dunne (80) was sentenced to two years' imprisonment at Tullamore Circuit Court last year on 17 sample charges of indecent assault on boys in Offaly and Kilkenny in the 1960s and 70s. It was said he abused boys since 1947 at schools in Dublin and Longford.
A statement "on behalf of the victims of Donal Dunne" said the bishops' response was "a consolation" to them. They urged the Government "to follow the bishops' lead and allow the process of healing to begin for all victims".
The bishops' spokesman, Father Martin Clarke, said that in supporting the initiative they were "willing to explore ways to further the process of healing for all victims of child abuse and to participate in any proposal that will improve the care and protection of children at present and in the future". The Dunne victims' statement continued: "The Department cannot now stand back and claim a lesser responsibility in our case. Their argument has no basis in law or common sense."
They have requested an urgent meeting with the Minister for Education to discuss their exclusion.
