In an earlier blog, we reported that on the 3rd of September, 2024, the Irish Minister for Education finally published the Report of Scoping Inquiry into historical abuse in religious schools and announced that a Commission of Investigation is to be established. This follows a recommendation in the Report of the Scoping Inquiry that such a Commission should be set up to examine historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders.

In early July 2025, the Irish Government committed that the Commission of Investigation would examine allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools across the country. It was also reported that the Irish Government will also establish a redress scheme for victims to examine historical sexual abuse in schools across the country.

The Scoping Inquiry had been told of some 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse, involving 884 alleged abusers in 308 schools across all parts of Ireland between the years 1927 to 2013. Mr Justice Michael MacGrath was appointed as the chair of the commission by Minister for Education. Mr Justice MacGrath was appointed to the High Court in 2018 and has been a judge on the Court of Appeal since 2024. The Commission of Investigation will be independent in its operation and will have its own working methods and procedures. When the commission begins its work formally, it will be widely advertised.

Following the findings of a scoping report in the Republic of Ireland in September 2024, there were calls for the establishment of a similar inquiry in Northern Ireland into historical abuse of children in schools run by religious orders. On the basis that the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry in Northern Ireland, which ran between 2014 and 2017, did not address clerical child abuse outside residential institutions, in January 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive announced that it was commissioning a project as part of a research study, which was tasked with examining the experiences of victims and survivors across all faith settings. 

The Northern Ireland project is different from the Scoping Inquiry in the Republic of Ireland. As it is cross denominational, it addresses all faiths and includes schools overseen by the main Churches and religious congregations in Northern Ireland. 

The study is one of three pieces of research, which have been commissioned to examine the extent and systemic nature of historical child abuse in faith settings in Northern Ireland. The work will be overseen by the Interdepartmental Working Group (IDWG), which was set up to oversee research and develop recommendations in respect of historical Mother and Baby Institutions/Magdalene Laundries as well as historical clerical child abuse (HCCA). The final report will be shared with all participants ahead of publication and it is our understanding that the draft report and associated recommendations are now being shared and discussed with all participants. We will update you further on the Norther Ireland findings and recommendations once they have been made public.