Speaking after the government’s decision to again exclude the Bethany Homes survivors from redress, Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe, said that the decision was based on a monetary one and had absolutely nothing to do with justice or about what was the right thing for the State to do.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“We know that that there are still many people who live with the lasting legacy of mental, physical and sexual abuse suffered as a result of their time in state run institutions.

“The redress board was about much more than receiving compensation. It was supposed to be motivated by compassion and concern for those who were abused while under the care of the State.

“It was one way of getting recognition for people who had suffered dreadful abuse.

“The announcement that once again the survivors of Bethany Home are to be excluded from redress is a bitter blow to the handful of survivors that remain.

“The decision was a monetary one and had absolutely nothing to do with justice or what was the right thing to do.

“Once again the state has abandoned their duty of care to children in Institutions run with a religious ethos. It also is a reminder of a time when the State regulated sectarian segregation rather than providing adequate healthcare provision in places that were supposed to be safe havens for some of our most vulnerable children.

“As a direct result of this policy large numbers of children died in Bethany Home, while many others suffered illness and abuse.

“The graves of 219 children who died in the Bethany Homes between 1922 and 1949 were found in Mount Jerome Cemetery in Dublin last year. 54 of those children died from convulsions, while a further 41 died from heart failure and 25 of malnutrition.

“The fact is that the Government has chosen to ignore the plight of these victims, as they had done previously to the many people who survived the Magdalene Laundry Institutions.

“There is a huge responsibility on the State, as representatives and guardians of the interests of the citizens of Ireland, to ensure that victims of institutional abuse are given every opportunity to seek meaningful restitution.

“The government’s decision to ignore the evidence linking the state to Bethany Home is a bitter blow.

“The price paid by the children this State failed to protect during this time is truly heart-breaking.”

ENDS