‘Harrowing viewing’: Taoiseach makes statement after survivors of violence in Irish schools speak out

TAOISEACH Simon Harris has pledged to consider extending the inquiry into clerical sex abuse at institutions across Ireland to include corporal punishment.

Mr Harris made the statement last night following the broadcast of the RTÉ documentary Leathered: Violence in Irish Schools.

The programme featured survivors of corporal punishment in Ireland, which was common practice until it was banned in 1982.

RTÉ researcher Eanya Gallagher interviewed more than a hundred men and women about the lifelong trauma caused by their time in the Irish education system.

“Many went to school every day in a climate of fear, knowing they faced the real and present danger of exactly this type of violence from adults who were supposed to protect them,” John Downes, who made and directed the documentary, said.

The Taoiseach described the documentary as “harrowing viewing”.

“The testimony on the historic violence inflicted on children in schools was harrowing viewing, I commend all of those who told their stories,” he said.

Commenting on the call by some survivors to have the abuse inflicted on them included in the Government’s Commission of Investigation into clerical sex abuse, Mr Harris said he will “reflect" on the request.

“I expect there will shortly be an update to the Government on the progress of establishing a Commission of Investigation into clerical sex abuse,” he said.

“The publication of the scoping report, and the painful stories that have been told since, have exposed a culture of violence, of calculated cruelty and the abuse of power that victimised and terrorised generations of Irish children who still bear the wounds and have for all of their lives.

“It is an unbearable burden which we must help lift.”

He added: “I have listened carefully to survivors [in Leathered] about expanding the inquiry and will now reflect on the request as their voices cannot, and must not, be ignored or unheard.

“This process cannot be rushed because it has to be right, and it has to respect the wishes of the victims who came forward,” he explained.

“Their voices which were silenced as defenceless children, even those whose parents tried to stand up against the barrage of brutality, are being heard and their bravery in reliving such terrible memories is testament to a national trauma which must be acknowledged.”

Leathered: Violence in Irish Schools is available to view on RTÉ Player.