The Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) has called for those named in the Murphy report be held accountable for their actions.
In a statement released today the IPPN called for “personnel at any level, who have failed in any way in their child protection responsibilities, to immediately step aside to facilitate a full and thorough investigation”.
An IPPN survey found that over 80 per cent of principals indicated that bishops named in the Murphy report should not continue in their position of school patron.
The network said that despite the belated resignation of the Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray many primary school principals still have “deep rooted concerns” in relation to child protection in primary schools in Ireland.
The survey found that 2 per cent of schools did not have an up to date child protection policy and it said authorities need to redress this scenario “as a matter of urgency” and place current guidelines on a statutory footing.
The Murphy report into the handling of allegations of child sexual abuse in the Dublin diocese published last month was highly critical of four archbishops and a number of auxiliary bishops.
It found the church actively covered up abuse and that, in some cases, priests who were known to have abused children were moved to other parishes where they abused again.
