IRELAND
One in Four
David Quinn - Religious and Social Affairs Correspondent - Irish Independent
THE Child Abuse Commission will, after all, listen to testimony from each of the 1,300 individuals who have opted to participate in the work of the commission's Investigation Committee.
The commission announced yesterday that all 1,300 will be interviewed by its legal team, which will decide which cases should be referred to the committee for full hearing.
This is a significant change of position by the commission under its chairman, Justice Sean Ryan. When Judge Ryan took over the commission from Justice Mary Laffoy, it decided to cut back heavily on the number of individuals - all former residents of industrial schools and orphanages - who could give evidence to the committee so it could complete its work in a reasonable timeframe.