PRESS RELEASE.
The Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’ Keeffe TD, today [Sunday] announced the membership of the committee that will oversee the erection of a memorial for victims of institutional abuse.
As recommended by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the memorial will permanently recognise the suffering of abuse victims in State-run institutions.
The Ryan Commission recommended that such a memorial should be erected and inscribed with these words of apology from the then Taoiseach in May 1999: ‘On behalf of the State and of all citizens of the State, the Government wishes to make a sincere and long-overdue apology to the victims of childhood abuse for our collective failure to intervene, to detect their pain, to come to their rescue.’
The remit of the committee is to:
consider the views of the survivor groups in relation to the location and nature of the memorial to be erected;
make recommendations on the location and nature of the memorial in a manner that best takes account of the views of the groups representing the survivors of abuse and to consider arrangements for a national day of remembrance and solidarity;
oversee the commissioning and delivery by the Office for Public Works (through competition) of the design and building of the memorial.
In announcing the membership of the committee, Minister O’Keeffe welcomed the willingness of those concerned to become involved in this important project.
‘The memorial will be a permanent reminder of a dark period in Irish life when we collectively failed the most vulnerable members of society.
‘As a responsible and caring society, we must fully face up to the fact that wrong was done, that hurt was caused, that we must learn from the mistakes of the past, and that we must never allow those horrific events to visit our people again,’ said Minister O’Keeffe.
The committee will be chaired by Séan Benton, former Chairman of the Office of Public Works, with Bernadette Fahy and Paddy Doyle representing survivors of abuse.
The other members of the committee are Seán Ó Laoire of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland; Monica Corcoran of the Arts Council; and Billy Houlihan, formerly Cork County Architect.
A budget of €500,000 is being set aside for the project which will be managed by the OPW. (Office of Public Works)
The Department of Education and Science will provide secretarial services for the committee.
ENDS
