Ireland responds to child abuse at Catholic-run facilities

Tag: ireland

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK Associated Press

DUBLIN — Ireland unveiled a plan Tuesday to better protect children from abuse after investigators documented decades of chronic molestation and brutality in Catholic-run facilities for kids.

The 99-point plan from Children's Minister Barry Andrews seeks to improve child-protection services and tighten enforcement.

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It also proposes building a memorial to thousands of children abused under Roman Catholic care through the 1990s.

Andrews said all children's shelters must be subject to independent inspection by next year, and 270 more social workers must be recruited because too many kids had nobody to assess the dangers in their lives.

The memorial, he said, would “act as a constant reminder of the neglect and abuse of the past and as a warning to be vigilant.”

Andrews' plan is a direct response to an investigation into past abuse in Catholic schools, orphanages and reformatories that shocked the nation.

The investigators determined in a 2,600-page report published in May that orders of Catholic brothers and nuns abused tens of thousands of children in their care — and secular authorities did nothing effective to stop it.

The nine-year investigation also highlighted how Ireland today still has poor standards for protecting children.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/w...51811.html