Dignity4Patients CEO, Adrienne Reilly said that the promised Commission of Investigation into the abuses at religions schools must have the interests of victims at its centre and that a separate Inquiry into the crimes of Michael Shine must be also be launched by the State.
Reacting to the latest revelations from the Scoping Inquiry into abuses in schools run by religious orders, Ms Reilly welcomed the report and the commitment to a Commission of Investigation but said that the history of such commissions in Ireland “has not been fantastic” and this one, must be “victim-centred”.
“The government has to get this one right. They have enough knowledge now in terms of Commissions of Investigation and Public Inquiries to properly resource the victims in this process and have real and meaningful engagement with victims,” she said.
Ms Kelly said this is what the victims of Michael Shine deserve too. She said that Dignity4Patients is now aware of at least 350 male alleged victims of Shine and she believes this is only scratching the surface, in terms of the scale of abuse in this case..
Adrienne Reilly said there was a “huge need” for an Inquiry into the crimes of Michael Shine and that her organisation and the victims it represents were “waiting on the ear of government” on that issue.
Ms Reilly said that cost should be no barrier to setting up a Shine Inquiry given that the Medical Missionaries of Mary had established a fund to protect the order against claims against it in 1997. She said that fund was 1.6 million punts, which amounted to about €2 million and with interest, will be a much larger sum, now.
“The money is there and that money should be used for the benefit of Shine’s victims to establish a Commission of Investigation into the crimes of Michael Shine,” Adrienne Kelly said.
She said that one of the victims of Michael Shine had already gone public to say he was abused in a Drogheda school run by a religious order, and there may well be more. Expressing her views forcefully, she said the number of alleged victims of Michael Shine made him “Ireland’s Jimmy Saville”.
Ms Reilly said that Dignity4Patients has been busy over the last week, fielding calls from alleged victims of Shine that are stepping forward for the first time and those reporting abuses in religious-run schools, seeking advice on where to go for help.
She said: “Every time there is something in the media related to sexual abuse, we get more people coming forward..
“Often we are the first people they have told in more than 30 years and it is the first time they have been able to talk about it.”
With that in mind, Ms Reilly said that it was important for victims of sexual abuse to reach out and talk to someone. She said that Dignity4Patients is happy to help and that you don’t have to be a victim of Michael Shine to make contact.
“If we can’t help directly, we can signpost people to services that can help. There are services and resources out there to support people and I would encourage people to reach out,” she said.