The Special Rapporteur on Child Protection has welcomed a Commission of Investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools, adding she hopes Ireland can replicate what other countries have done in removing the statue of limitations in relation to child sexual abuse.
The Government yesterday said it is to establish a Commission of Investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools across the country.
Further work will be carried out to examine the matter of financial redress and how any future scheme could be funded.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Caoilfhionn Gallagher said that many victims and survivors find it very difficult to come forward, and that "a number of countries" have removed their statues of limitations in relation to child sexual abuse.
"I hope that's something that Ireland does too," she added.
Ms Gallagher said that "lessons have been learned from what's gone wrong before" such as survivor engagement. She added that a redress scheme "means different things to different people".
"Accountability means different things to different people," said Ms Gallagher.
She said that there must be clear communication and transparency allowing survivors to make informed choices as to whether to engage with the commission.
"There's got to be support for survivors at key stages of the process and support for those with additional needs to enable them to access the process, and there's got to be a trauma informed approach.
She said steps have to be taken to "mitigate the risks of re-traumatisation in consultation with survivors and expert advice".
Ms Gallagher explained that the commission will use a sampling approach, which she said is proven to be effective as this system has been used in other jurisdictions.
"When they're looking at handling by schools and related entities of abuse between 1927 and 2013, that's a huge period of time," she said.
"And sadly, as we know, there were many, many thousands of children abused over that period of time. And if they were to look in depth into each and every one of those allegations, the inquiry would never be done.
"So what they are doing is they are going to have a kind of sampling approach, which means they'll look at in more depth at particular examples, whether it's category of school, a particular time period, a geographic location to give them a sense."
Tusla to work with new commission
The Chief Executive of the child and family agency Tusla said it will work with the new commission into abuse in schools.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Kate Duggan said that it is very important to hear the voice of survivors.
"Survivors are already waiting so long for the acknowledgement and to be heard"
"We will work with the commission in any way that we are asked to do so in terms of really trying to make sure that we get an acknowledgement, a recognition of the level of abuse that was suffered within those schools."
She said it was important that "we never become complacent, to think that this might never happen again".
Meanwhile, a rights campaigner for victims of sexual abuse in State-run schools said it is important that the Government to be included in the investigation.
Louise O'Keefe said the State must be held accountable for the role it played in allowing abuses to continue, adding that not all schools were run by religious orders.
"It is hugely important, because there has been a delay of 11 and a half years," she said.
"But yet we do know that back in the early 1941 that the state were aware at that stage of the fact that sexual abuse was happening in our schools."
She said that redress is an acknowledgement to survivors that they were let down.
"Survivors are already waiting so long for the acknowledgement and to be heard," she said.
"They haven't been listened to. They haven't been heard. They really haven't been heard and they must be heard."
'Mistakes of the past' must not be repeated
Meanwhile, leader of the Labour Party Ivana Bacik said the Commission of Investigation must learn from previous commissions.
Survivors have been retraumatised, there have been long waits "for appropriate redress", and there have been leaks to the media - these "mistakes of the past" must not be repeated, she said.
The commission is "going to run for at least five years", she added, and she repeated her call for a parallel process of redress.
"We need to go further than condemnation," she said, urging that those in religious orders who have abused children be held accountable for their offences.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin noted that "many survivors view financial redress" as important, and the Government is determined to ensure this happens.
Those responsible must be held accountable and make redress, he agreed, and said legal options open to the State are being examined, including changes to the statute of limitations in relation to claims.
"It is complex work," he said, and the Government is "open to engaging" with the Opposition on it.
Deputy Bacik welcomed the exploration of legal options.
She said "the developer's wife syndrome" allows religious orders to put "vast quantites of assets and properties" beyond reach.
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