Labour leader Ivana Bacik has written to Taoiseach Simon Harris, urging the government to hold religious orders accountable for their role in the systemic child sexual abuse uncovered in Ireland’s educational institutions. Bacik’s call for action comes as part of Labour’s push for the government to support the “Civil Liability (Child Sexual Abuse Proceedings Unincorporated Bodies of Persons) Bill 2024,” which aims to facilitate justice for survivors of abuse at the hands of religious orders.
### Seeking Justice for Survivors
In her letter to the Taoiseach, Bacik emphasized the importance of ensuring that religious orders fully contribute to any redress scheme addressing the historic abuse in educational institutions. She commended the bravery of survivors who have come forward to share their experiences and shed light on the dark realities of the Irish education system. Bacik highlighted the ongoing power imbalances that hinder survivors from seeking justice and underscored the need for a legislative framework to hold religious orders accountable for their past actions.
### Labour’s Proposed Bill
Labour’s proposed bill seeks to address the challenges faced by survivors in seeking justice from unincorporated bodies, such as religious orders, by enabling civil proceedings against these entities and their associated trusts. Bacik stressed the necessity of a robust legal framework to ensure that religious orders cannot evade responsibility or delay accountability any longer. She called for a swift and decisive action to support survivors and compel religious orders to pay their fair share towards redress schemes to provide justice for victims of historical abuse.
### Government’s Role in Accountability
Bacik acknowledged the government’s establishment of a Statutory Inquiry into institutional abuse and emphasized the importance of a parallel Redress Scheme to run alongside the Commission of Investigation. She urged the government to work with opposition parties to ensure that survivors do not have to wait any longer for justice. Bacik emphasized the need for religious orders to take financial responsibility for their complicity in the egregious abuses and called for faster progress in the divestment of schools from religious orders to remove their influence over the education system.
In conclusion, Ivana Bacik’s letter to the Taoiseach reflects Labour’s commitment to seeking justice for survivors of historical abuse in Ireland’s educational institutions. The proposed bill aims to hold religious orders accountable for their actions and provide a pathway to justice for victims of systemic child sexual abuse. The government’s collaboration with opposition parties and survivors’ voices are essential in ensuring that religious orders contribute to redress schemes and take financial responsibility for their role in the institutional abuses of the past.
