Latest news with #institutionalAbuse
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
RTE legend Joe Duffy praises callers as he presents his final Liveline
Veteran broadcaster Joe Duffy has presented his final episode of RTE 's iconic phone-in show, Liveline, bringing to a close a distinguished 27-year tenure at the helm. During his last broadcast on Friday afternoon, the Ballyfermot native paid tribute to the callers who have shaped the programme over the decades. Mr Duffy, 69, is stepping down after 37 years with the national broadcaster. His long-running show, Liveline, has become a pivotal reflection of Irish life, serving as a unique forum for everyday grievances, facilitating the reunion of long-lost family members, and playing a crucial role in exposing societal injustices. Known for his plain-spoken approach as an on-air umpire for often heated debates, Mr Duffy has frequently expressed personal motivation stemming from the sensitive topics covered on the programme. These have included the tragic deaths of children during the 1916 Rising and the harrowing testimonies of survivors of institutional abuse. He has written books including Children Of The Rising and Children Of The Troubles. 'It will go on. Liveline is on today, but it's on on Monday as well,' Duffy told RTE Radio ahead of his last programme at 1.45pm on Friday. He added: 'It's the voices on Liveline; the less I talk the better, I find. 'We (the media) are still trusted. In the main we are still trusted, unlike other countries. 'They're all part of our daily discourse, which is great and I hope that continues.' During his last programme, Duffy was praised by musician Brush Shiels as 'a voice for the voiceless' and he was thanked by people whose lives had been changed because of him and Liveline. Irish premier Micheal Martin called in to praise his kindness, and said it would often happen that civil servants would run into him and say 'Liveline's gone mad, we've got to do this that and the other'. 'You were and are the voice of the people, you were authentic, you gave the people a platform, and I think you never left your roots,' he told the broadcaster. 'Your working-class background stood to you, the values that your parents and your family gave to you, I think, were the reason why you had a unique capacity to mediate between the people and authority to tell their stories.' When Mr Martin said 'I've known you going back to my student days, where you taught me a few things when I was a student activist', Duffy quipped: 'You forgot that quick enough now.' Mr Martin continued: 'Your personal acts of kindness have always been quite extraordinary, and something that has touched our family quite a lot.' Mr Martin said that Duffy had taken photos of him with his daughter Leana, who died aged seven in 2010, at a crab fishing competition in Courtmacsherry, which were now 'treasured' by him and his family. 'I think it's your kindness and your compassion that rings through on the radio.' Duffy joined RTE as a radio producer in 1989 and came to prominence as a reporter on the Gay Byrne Show. He presented programmes such as Soundbyte before taking over Liveline from Marian Finucane in 1998, attracting some 400,000 listeners to the phone-in programme. After Ryan Tubridy's departure from RTE in 2023, following governance and financial controversies at the station, Duffy became RTE's top earner on 351,000 euro. He said his working-class Dublin accent on the national broadcaster had prompted some 'green-ink letters' of complaint when he started, some of which were internal. Among Liveline's most famous episodes were callers giving their thoughts on the television series Normal People, people sharing stories of corporal punishment in Ireland over the decades, women phoning in about menopause and a row Duffy had with Brian Warfield, from the Wolfe Tones, about the song Celtic Symphony. Duffy said the only time he has been physically threatened during his tenure was over discussions about the closure of 'headshops', which sold drugs paraphernalia, where he said a man confronted him in a car park. Asked about whether he would run for the presidency in the autumn, Duffy said: 'I will not lose the run of myself.' 'I can see the Aras from Claddagh Green, I'd say that's the closest I'll ever get to it.' The Minister for Culture and Media Patrick O'Donovan tribute to Duffy for giving a voice to people. 'As the voice of Liveline since 1998, he has helped to start many important conversations in this country, to give a voice to those who were suffering and to those who were vulnerable. 'He has helped us to share in moments of national pride and national mourning, and he has been a consistent part of the daily lives of thousands of listeners across the country for decades. 'From challenging injustices, to celebrating moments of unbridled joy, for 27 years on Liveline and across 37 years with RTE, Joe's commitment to public service broadcasting has been unwavering. 'While he may be stepping back from the daily microphone, his legacy will undoubtedly continue to inspire.'
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Exclusion of survivors from mother and baby redress scheme ‘causing anger, distress and retraumatisation'
Excluding some survivors from the mother and baby home redress scheme is causing people anger, distress and retraumatisation, the special advocate for survivors of institutional abuse has said. The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme's 'restrictive eligibility requirements' have enforced a 'hierarchy of suffering' according to arbitrary criteria, said Patricia Carey who has published her first report. Excluding certain survivors from the scheme, including those who were boarded out or fostered out and those who spent fewer than 180 days in institutions as a child, 'are arbitrary criteria and perpetuate the harm caused by the State and the church', the report notes. 'The fact that those boarded out as young as five years of age to work unpaid on farms and as servants have never been included in any redress scheme is a stain on the whole of Government response institutional abuse,' said Ms Carey. READ MORE The report also highlights the exclusion of survivors who died before the State apology on January 13th, 2021, which has prevented the families of those who died from making an application for compensation. Ms Carey, who was appointed special advocate for survivors of institutional abuse in March 2024, met more than 1,300 survivors of institutional abuse and forced family separation in Ireland and overseas during her first year in the role. During this time, Ms Carey heard first-hand accounts of 'beatings, sexual and physical abuse, forced and unpaid labour as well as hunger and lack of care, education and family life'. Many survivors left Ireland after their experiences of 'incarceration, confinement or abuse in institutions, or were illegally trafficked or adopted as part of Ireland's legacy of forced family separation', she notes. Many survivors said providing testimony as part of the Residential Institutions Redress Scheme was 'upsetting, traumatic, adversarial, difficult and distressful', the report notes. The report calls for survivors to have full and unredacted access to all their records, and says legislation is needed to compel religious orders and church authorities to hand over all records related to institutions and forced family separation. The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme should be extended 'to those currently excluded from redress' including people who spent time in the mother and baby home network of institutions and all those who were forcibly removed from their families, it says. All open redress schemes should be widely promoted, to encourage as many applications as possible, it adds. Given the ageing survivor population, it is 'unfair and exclusionary to further discriminate' against those who were unable to apply to, or were unaware of, previous redress schemes, says the report. A significant percentage of survivors are residing in social housing or are on waiting lists for social housing and live in areas of social deprivation, with many voicing concerns around secondary institutionalisation in later life in nursing or care homes. Survivors must have access to good quality, affordable social housing and should be fully supported to remain living in their own homes for as long as possible, says the report. It also calls for the establishment of an independent investigation into vaccine trials 'conducted without consent' on thousands of children in institutions in the 1960s and the 1970s. An independent DNA and genealogy service should also be established for those whose births were illegally registered and for those seeking family tracing, it notes. There should also be greater ease of access to Irish passports for those trafficked abroad for adoption and more supports, and resources should be made available for survivors living overseas, particularly in the UK and US, says the report. The post of special advocate for survivors of institutional abuse was created as part of the Government's response to the final report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation. Ms Carey's brief encompasses mother and baby institutions; county home institutions; Magdalene laundries, industrial and reformatory school institutions and related institutions; and those adopted, boarded out or the subject of an illegal birth registration.
ABC News
5 days ago
- ABC News
Australia's guardians and public trustees are being weaponised under a veil of secrecy
Kayla portait wide ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) For four years, Kayla's life wasn't her own. She couldn't choose where she lived, what to do with her own money, or who she could talk to. Kayla portrait medium But now, Kayla has managed to escape the system which controlled her. She wants to tell her story of how an institution that's supposed to protect vulnerable people instead turned her into a victim. Kayla portrait close ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) But it's illegal for us to share her real name or face. Even sharing details about her, such as her hobbies or religious beliefs, is punishable with jail time. Anyone can apply for the government to take control of someone's life. Sometimes applications are made by doctors, carers, or concerned family members. But they can also be made by complete strangers — and people looking to cause harm. Claire looking through documents ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) Claire — not her real name — can't decide whether to cry or laugh at the absurdity of the situation she found herself in. She's delving into the paper trail inking a timeline of her daughter's descent into "hell". "Going through the documents, it brings it all back — it brings back the powerlessness that I felt to be able to protect Kayla," Claire says. "It's like a horror story that someone's made up." Kayla was born with a rare brain condition which can cause developmental delays and intellectual disability. Claire has helped to take care of Kayla's support needs since she was young, including organising services and medication. But a messy divorce and one misguided attempt to protect Kayla spiralled everything out of control. Documents in Claire's living room ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) Tribunal documents in Claire's living room ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) "I had no idea that it would end up with all of Kayla's rights being stripped off her," she says. "Kayla lost total control of her life, and I feel really responsible for that." During the asset split with Claire's former husband, she says she was advised by her lawyer to apply for control of Kayla's assets through Western Australia's State Administrative Tribunal (SAT). "There was $20,000 that belonged to Kayla that I'd saved for her," Claire says. "I just wanted to protect her little nest egg." Claire's application was successful, but the fallout of the couple's bitter separation led them back to the tribunal over, and over again. Claire sifting through documents ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) "He [former husband] took us back there time, and time, and time again," Claire says. The tribunal deemed Kayla incapable of making her own decisions, and put her under the care of the Public Advocate and the Public Trustee. "I felt completely powerless, I couldn't protect her anymore," Claire says. She felt the state care system was being "weaponised" against her and Kayla. Descent into despair First, the state took over decisions about where Kayla could live, and who she could live with. Then, it took over her finances. Finally, it took away her decisions about the services she could receive, including what support she could have for living with her disability, and legal representation. Kayla covering face close ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) "Who the hell are these people? They don't know anything about my life," Kayla says, thinking back on her time under state care. Kayla's support services, which her mother helped to set up over years, were removed and replaced. In a statement, the Public Advocate Pauline Bagdonavicius said state guardians' decisions aim to build a person's capacity to live as independently as possible. "Any changes are made in the best interests of the represented person," she says. But a past tribunal hearing examining Kayla's experience heard otherwise. "That was not in her best interests," a judge said. A snippet of a State Administrative Tribunal hearing transcript. ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) The guardian forced Kayla to spend alternating weeks at her father's house. While there, Kayla would often call her mother. "She was my security blanket, she was the person that I trusted, she understood my needs," Kayla says. "I called her at 4am in tears being like, 'come get me now, I'm not safe'." Kayla alleges her father's partner threw her phone into a river, and on another occasion yelled and hit her. "I was woken up many times ... to stuff being thrown, to stuff being broken," she says. Kayla's father denied the allegations in the State Administrative Tribunal, and said Claire was stoking tensions in his house by "actively telling [Kayla] she could do whatever she likes". Part of a transcript of a tribunal hearing. ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) He told the tribunal Claire "wanted total control" over their daughter, that Claire wasn't a suitable carer, and that he believed it was in his daughter's best interests if the state controlled her life. The Public Advocate says state guardians may make decisions about accommodation when there is conflict between parents. "The delegated guardian is always working to balance views of the represented person and their family members in the best interests of the represented person," Ms Bagdonavicius says. Claire going through documents ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) Claire repeatedly raised concerns with the guardian about Kayla's situation, and her vexed relationship with her father's partner. "They kept sending her back. They kept saying 'no, the agreement is that Kayla goes and stays with her father [for] a week and that's what's going to happen'," Claire says. It was only after Claire took Kayla to a police station to report the alleged abuse incidents that the guardian stopped enforcing the split living arrangement. By then, Claire's relationship with Kayla's guardian had already deteriorated beyond repair. "I could see Kayla's wellbeing declining rapidly, I could see things being imposed upon Kayla that I just couldn't live with," Claire says. "I couldn't get anybody to listen ... and I grew to hate them." Kayla looking up ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) Kayla's breath shakes as she recounts trying to tell her state guardian she didn't feel safe. "I tried to, but they just dismissed me ... it was very demoralising, it was very upsetting for me," she says. "It was like being in a locked box." A chance meeting with one woman, who was willing to listen, changed everything. High stakes Several organisations which help people in state care have told the ABC they can't speak publicly out of fear of jeopardising future cases. Maxine Drake is an advocate with Developmental Disability WA who has worked with families through hundreds of tribunal hearings. Maxine Drake in her office ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) Ms Drake hesitates while debating whether to reveal one of her biggest concerns with the system: "I shouldn't ... yes, maybe I should," she says. "People are making applications in a hostile view to try to impinge upon either the freedoms of the person or the freedoms of others around them." "[They're] what might be called 'vexatious applications' ... I have absolutely seen circumstances where applications to SAT have been used as a hostile strategy to interfere with families." Tribunals are intended to be less formal than a court. There's no bowing or standing to speak, no formalities like "your honour", and lawyers aren't required. But, the stakes can be just as high. Developmental Disability WA advocate Maxine Drake. ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) "I've seen people who've been voluble, talkative, clear outside the hearing room, and then completely unable to speak in the hearing room," Ms Drake says. "There's very few circumstances where the state can intrude into our lives in this way." Life-defining decisions — like the ones made for Kayla about her mental capacity, and who controlled her money or where she lived — can all be made in a tribunal. Maxine Drake working on computer ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) Maxine Drake's desk ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) "They can be so anxious that they can't speak straight, and think straight, and act straight, and then that's how they look like they're not able to make decisions," Ms Drake says. She believes far too many people are unnecessarily having their rights stripped away through the tribunal and state care systems. "An order can take away a person's exercise of their own rights — they can, in a sense, encourage a learned helplessness," she says. Ms Drake was instrumental in Kayla and her mother Claire's battle to claw out of state guardianship. Kayla and Claire with birds ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) After years of wrestling in the tribunal, the state has relinquished control, and Kayla can now decide for herself where she lives, how she uses her own money, and who she talks to. "They put me through so much stuff that wasn't fair ... when I came out of that tribunal hearing and they told me, I screamed," Kayla says. "It feels like I'm free." Kayla wants to share her story — to show her face, and use her own voice — but it's illegal to identify her. Gag order The guardianship and administration orders put on Kayla are similar to the conservatorship orders which US pop star Britney Spears was under for 13 years, which sparked the #FreeBritney movement. Fans of Britney Spears began advocating for her conservatorship to be ended several years ago. ( ABC News: Bradley McLennan ) Britney Spears supporters demonstrate outside a hearing concerning the pop singer's conservatorship at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) ( AP: Chris Pizzello ) The Free Britney movement has vowed to fight for other Americans who feel unreasonably constrained by their guardianships. ( ABC News: Bradley McLennan ) In Australia, about 50,000 people are under the control of state guardians and public trustees. Across most of the country, journalists are prohibited from identifying people who are, or have been, under guardianship or administration. Penalties include fines ranging from $5,000 to $35,000 and imprisonment. Developmental Disability WA advocate Maxine Drake. ( ABC News: Cason Ho ) Maxine Drake says the confidentiality provisions are important in some cases, but blanket gag laws prevent the system being held to account. "The confidentiality laws in this area are a real problem. They're a problem for the community because there's no accountability, there's no visibility in the system," she says. "The confidentiality laws, they deny the person themselves from the justice of having their voice heard." "Those people should not be gagged — those people are the best people to tell us where things didn't go right for them, they're the best ones to reflect on whether there were any benefits in the process for them." A map of Australia. ( ABC News: Mark Evans ) The ABC contacted the state guardian in every state and territory. Some responded directly, and others through their state governments or departments. A map of Australia with the Australian Capital Territory coloured green. ( ABC News: Mark Evans ) The Australian Capital Territory is the only jurisdiction where people under state guardianship can be identified and details of tribunal proceedings can be reported. A map of Australia with the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Queensland coloured green. The Northern Territory is coloured yellowish-green. ( ABC News: Mark Evans ) Half the state and territories' guardians support the removal of blanket gag laws, or in the Northern Territory's case "sensible reform" that "should carefully consider the ongoing importance of protecting individual privacy". A map of Australia with South Australia coloured orange and red. ( ABC News: Mark Evans ) In South Australia, people under guardianship can be identified but it's illegal to report on details of tribunal proceedings. SA's guardian said its state's laws do not stop people from "speaking out about their experiences in the guardianship system more broadly".
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Irish Times
Thousands of child abuse records kept in storage costing €80,000 a year
Thousands of institutional child abuse records are sitting in a storage facility costing more than €80,000 a year, because of a failure to legislate to retain the records in the National Archives of Ireland . The documents include allegations of abuse from about 15,600 survivors of industrial and reformatory schools. All of the survivors are under a strict legal gagging order that means they cannot discuss details of their redress case, and it is understood that the overwhelming majority have never had access to their redress board transcripts. The State's independent advocate for survivors of institutional abuse has now called for all records relating to institutional abuse to be held in one place, where they would be accessible to survivors. The Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB), which has paid out almost €1 billion in redress since 2002, accepted its last application in 2011. But the largely wound down board is running under a skeleton staff because it remains responsible for managing the sensitive files. READ MORE The RIRB has spent more than €2.2 million in security and storage over the last 16 years, due to the sensitivity of the documents. The Government had said that if and when a body like the RIRB was dissolved, the records it held would legally need to be destroyed. This had been contested by academics and survivor advocacy groups. The RIRB was set up in 2002 to pay awards to those who suffered abuse as children in reformatory, industrial schools or other institutions that were regulated or inspected by the State. Survivors who were awarded redress lost the right to speak publicly about it. Under the legislation that set up the RIRB, it is a criminal offence to publish any information about a redress application or award, including details about the survivor, the alleged perpetrator and the institution. The RIRB records, which are understood to be highly sensitive, include allegations of serious abuse against named perpetrators and detailed medical and psychological reports of survivors. [ A simple question stopped Ireland in its tracks: why were so many children incarcerated? Opens in new window ] In 2019 the Government tried to pass a law that would place the records of the RIRB and other redress bodies under a seal for 75 years. The legislation was abandoned after a backlash from survivors, their advocates and the public. In 2022 the Government decided instead to set up a National Centre for Research and Remembrance for Ireland's many institutional abuse scandals. Martin Fraser, Ireland's ambassador to the UK, is leading a steering group tasked with setting up the centre, which will include an archive of records under the National Archive. In July 2022 Mr Fraser met the RIRB to discuss some of the legislative issues around retaining the records. In its annual report for 2022 the RIRB said it was working with Mr Fraser's steering group 'so as to allow for the early introduction of legislation providing for the retention of the board's records so that as many victims and survivors as possible will benefit from that legislation'. Three years on, there is no sign of the legislation. The Irish Times understands there have been legal complexities about drafting such a law for the files. A spokesman for the Department of Education said that 'while the original legislation provided for disposal of the records, it is now envisaged that new legislation will instead provide for the transfer of the records to the National Archives so that they can be preserved for posterity'. 'Work is ongoing on the complex and sensitive issues relating to the wide range of records which are relevant to the National Centre for Research and Remembrance, including those held by the RIRB,' the spokesman said. Since 2009 the RIRB has spent more than €2.2 million on security arrangements due to the sensitivity of the documents it is responsible for. In 2009-2014 the RIRB spent more than €1.58 million on 24-hour security – around a quarter of a million a year – for its Belfield Office Park in Dublin 4 due to the sensitive nature of the documents it held. In 2014, after it moved to a new office on St Stephen's Green, the RIRB's security expenses dropped due to the existing security arrangements at its new office. In 2015-2023 the RIRB spent more than €696,000 on secure off-site storage for the files. In 2023, the year for which the most recent data is available, the cost of secure off-site storage was more than €83,800. [ State accused of 'stonewalling' and 'hiding evidence' over Magdalene laundries Opens in new window ] Many survivors later complained they had found the RIRB to be 'adversarial' and felt as though they had been 'on trial'. Some were cross-examined during oral hearings by the religious congregations responsible for their alleged abuse. Patricia Carey, the Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse, said she was 'aware of the trauma and upset caused to survivors through the evidence giving and evidence testing process of the Residential Institutions Redress Board'. 'There is a frustration from survivors of all institutions that their files are not being held and stored in one place, where they would be accessible,' Ms Carey said. Anyone who was awarded redress by the RIRB is entitled to a transcript of their testimony to the board. But it is understood that of the more than 15,000 survivors awarded redress, only a small minority have so far done so.
