This article is from page 2 of the 2014-02-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
DOZENS of Clare people who were the victims of industrial abuse have contacted new state abuse agency Cara Nua during its first three weeks in operation.
Close to 100 people from the county are understood to have contacted the new agency – which has been set up to help connect victims of abuse with a selections of practical services.
The new agency cannot take on any candidates who have not been previously before the Residential Institutions Board or had a successful case before the courts. With the board now closed to new applications, some Clare people who have suffered abuse in an industrial setting may be excluded from the scheme.
Abuse victims can still choose to take a case through the courts, but only if their level of abuse they endured was severe enough to be considered and indictable offense. The statute of limitations for less serious offenses – such as assault (six years), personal injury (two years) and summary offenses (six month) – will have elapsed.
The group currently has a budget of € 74 million funded by the religious institutions but that could swell to € 100 million in the months ahead.
“We can only provide services to people who have actually received an award – either through the Resi- dential Institutions Board or through the courts. We are limited to those people and we can’t deal with people who have spent time in a residential institute but did not take a case or go through the courts,” Fiona Coyne of Cara Nua.
“That said we know of around 400 people who are currently going through redress and we will be able to help them once there cases have been completed. Unfortunately the redress board is closed to applications – they are currently hearing their last 400 cases.”
The scheme is mainly aimed at meeting the needs of the victims of industrial abuse as they enter old age.
“Our focus is on their quality of life now and promoting well being. We’re looking at the issues that they are faced with now, not their time in an institution. These people have already told their story [to the redress board] they don’t need to go into that side of things with us. We are just there to help,” continued Ms Coyne.
“We don’t provide services directly ourselves but if people do need counselling or any kind of physiological support we can put them in touch with people.
“We have a budget of € 74 million and out anticipation is that this money won’t last indefinitely, so we feel we many be able to fund this service for the next three years.”
Contact Cara Nua at 1800 212477.