July 07, 2005

Sex abuse indemnity ruled out for CofI homes

IRELAND
One in Four

Liam Reid, Political Reporter
Irish Times

The Government has refused to provide a Church of Ireland charity with an indemnity for child abuse compensation claims over a group of children's homes it operated.

However, all four homes run by the Smyly Trust are to be covered under the State Redress scheme, in light of allegations of serious physical and sexual abuse dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.

The Irish Times has learned that a request by the Smyly Trust for an indemnity similar to that given to Catholic religious orders in 2002 was rejected because the contribution being offered by the trust was too small.

Following the discussions, two of the homes, Racefield House in DúLaoghaire, and the Boys Home in Upper Grand Canal Street in Dublin, were added by the Government last Friday to the list of institutions covered under the legislation.

Posted by kshaw at July 7, 2005 08:06 AM