A settlement has been reached in a High Court case between ten survivors of historical abuse in schools and the State over access to a redress scheme.
A test case had been taken against the Minister for Education, which was joined by nine other applicants dealing with the same issue,
The applicants had challenged a refusal to admit them to a revised redress scheme for survivors of historic child sexual abuse in schools that was open between 2021 and 2023.
While the terms of the settlements were not disclosed in court, it is understood the survivours, the names of whom were anonymised, have each received a payment of €84,000.
The sum is the same figure that successful applicants are entitled to under the redress scheme.
It was opened to people who were sexually abused while a pupil in a primary school before June 1991 or in a post-primary school before November 1992.
Three days had been set aside for the hearings in July.
Senior counsel for the applicants, James O’Reilly SC, told the court that a settlement had been reached between the applicants and the State.
He asked the court to strike out all the cases and for the applicants costs to be adjudicated on.
Mr O’Reilly said the applicants are "really pleased with the outcome" and he said they "got the relief they are looking for under the scheme."
He described the settlement as "a good day" for the child sex abuse survivors.
Judge Niamh Hyland made an order striking out the proceedings in each of the 10 cases and for the applicants costs to be adjudicated in default of agreement.
Ms Justice Hyland said she is "very glad the parties have been able to reach this resolution."
None of the applicants were present in the court for the proceedings.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has described the settlement as "a significant concession" by the State.
The IHREC has called on the Government to "immediately establish" a new redress scheme, to provide "an effective remedy" to survivors of historic child abuse in schools.
The commission was not a party to the case, but it was granted leave from the High Court to exercise its 'friend of the court’ function, which meant it could make submissions.
IHREC Commissioner Noeline Blackwell said "One of the things that this points up again, is the need for the state to once and for all put in place a comprehensive, fair and accessible scheme that will comply with the results of the Louise O'Keeffe judgement of more than 10 years ago."
She said it is "a matter of justice, a matter of fairness and it's a matter that the State could put right".
Following today's settlement, the Department of Education said: "While the Department is not in a position to comment on individual cases, it acknowledges that protecting children from harm should be the foremost ambition in any society and notes that extensive measures have been put in place to improve child protection in schools."
