Chapter 11 — Current circumstances

Occupational status

Thirty one (31) male and female witnesses reported being unable to sustain regular employment as a result of serious mental health difficulties.

It is of note that 56 female witnesses were in non-manual occupations compared with 29 male witnesses. Twenty two (22) female witnesses and seven male witnesses reported having completed university degrees as mature students and were in different professional occupations. Twenty five (25) witnesses, 16 male and nine female, were employed in senior managerial or skilled technical occupations for which they had received specialised training. I left here... (Ireland)... because of...(discrimination)...I was frustrated with Ireland. I said “to hell with this, I’m getting out of this country”. I went to ...(university abroad)... I have never been unemployed... I put Ireland behind.

Eleven (11) witnesses, six male and five female, reported that they joined religious communities when they were discharged from the Schools. The majority of these witnesses reported they left the communities before completing their training.

Reports of long-term unemployment among male witnesses were associated with reports of time spent in prison. Fifty nine (59) male witnesses (14%) reported having spent time in prison in either Ireland or the UK, and a number in both jurisdictions, since their discharge from the School system. In most instances the first period of detention was within five years of being discharged, and this experience established a pattern followed for life for many of the witnesses. Larceny, public order offences, serious assault, grievous harm and other criminal offences were reasons given by a number of witnesses for their prison sentence. Three (3) male witnesses reported being charged with the sexual abuse of minors.

Accommodation

Most of the 413 male and 378 female witnesses reported stable current accommodation arrangements and almost half the witnesses reported owning their own home. Many witnesses described the importance of having a home to call their own and described the sense of security they felt on achieving this. I had to work to buy my house, my house comes before everything, that’s mine, no-one will take it off me...I will work all the hours until my mortgage is paid. That’s what I learned in ...named School.... What I have is mine...I had no home for so long, I had nothing..., I worked a good bit of overtime to buy a house...I have my privacy and I have my independence, no-one will take that off me.

The accommodation circumstances reported by witnesses at the time of the hearing are shown in Table 49 below:

Accommodation	Males	%	Females	%	Total witnesses	%
Owner occupiers	163	39	184	49	347	44
Local authority/council housing	153	37	135	36	288	36
Private rented accommodation	41	10	31	8	72	9
With relatives	18	4	4	1	22	3
Sheltered housing	14	3	5	1	19	2
With friends	7	2	6	2	13	2
Hostel	3	1	2	1	5	1
Institution	4	1	0	0	4	1
Information not available	10	2	11	3	21	3
Total	413	100	378	(100)*	791	(100)*

Accommodation referred to as sheltered housing included group homes and supported facilities in the community provided by social and mental health services. Accommodation described as institutional included psychiatric hospitals and prisons.

Homelessness was a reported feature in the earlier years following discharge of 22 of the male witnesses and 40 of the female witnesses who spoke to the Committee. A small number of male witnesses reported ongoing periodic homelessness in recent years. I slept in down and out places where it was really cheap. ... I was thinking would I come back ...(to Ireland)... but you can’t come back, you know nobody. I slept rough because I had nowhere to stay, I used to sleep in the park. I met ...named ex co-resident.... I got a job in ...named establishment... where all the boys used go. But, I had nowhere to stay and I used to be standing up nearly falling asleep during work. I got a place in ...named city... but we ...(former co-residents)... got thrown out of that because we couldn’t pay. I then got a job as a labourer, it was a job, it was just there, nobody asked questions, you didn’t have to fill a form up or anything. I was there for 12 years. ... I felt ashamed, I didn’t want people to know who I was.

Health

Male and female witnesses provided information about their current physical and mental health status and wellbeing, either directly or in the context of discussing their adult life circumstances. Many witnesses reported multiple health concerns, currently and in the past. For the purposes of writing this Report, witnesses’ health status was categorised as good, reasonable and poor based on the information witnesses provided either directly or indirectly about their past and current health history in the course of their hearings.

The following table outlines the physical health status described by male and female witnesses at the time of their hearing:

Physical health status	Males	%	Females	%	Total witnesses	%
Good	163	39	131	35	294	37
Reasonable	148	36	170	45	318	40
Poor	101	24	77	20	178	23
Unavailable	1	(0)	0	0	1	(0)
Total	413	(100)*	378	100	791	100

The information provided by 294 witnesses (37%), 163 male and 131 female, indicated that they enjoyed a good level of physical health and well-being, notwithstanding the fact that they may have some health problems currently or in the past. Three hundred and eighteen (318) witnesses (40%), 148 male and 170 female, described having reasonable physical health. The most common feature of this group of witnesses was that they reported having physical health problems either currently or in the past, which continued to have an impact on their lives. They generally regarded their physical health problems as being manageable and often age-related. There were 178 witnesses (23%), 101 male and 77 female, who gave a history of poor physical health. The fact that poor health was reported by 25% of male witnesses compared with 20% of female witnesses may be in part related to the older age profile of the male witnesses.

The most frequently reported physical health complaints for both male and female witnesses were cardio-vascular problems such as heart disease, angina and hypertension. One hundred and forty (140) witnesses (18%), 76 male and 64 female, reported various combinations of these conditions including a number who had suffered strokes or had heart surgery. Eighty nine (89) witnesses, 45 male and 44 female, described having gastric conditions including ulcers and gall bladder problems in addition to kidney and liver disorders. Seventy four (74) witnesses, 49 male and 25 female, reported respiratory problems of various kinds including asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Sixty seven (67) witnesses, 31 male and 36 female, reported suffering with different forms of arthritis and rheumatism all of which negatively affected their mobility and sense of well-being.

Certain health problems were more frequently reported by either male or female witnesses; for example 17 male witnesses, compared with three female witnesses, reported that their health problems were directly linked to their alcohol abuse. Thirteen (13) female witnesses reported having had hysterectomies and 10 also reported having osteoporosis. Eleven (11) male witnesses reported having hip, knee or other joint replacements and operations compared with four female witnesses. Twenty three (23) witnesses, eight male and 15 female, reported being diagnosed and treated for cancer. Twenty two (22) male witnesses reported being treated for diabetes and gout, compared with seven reports by female witnesses of treatment for diabetes. Eleven (11) witnesses, five male and six female, reported being treated for tuberculosis as adults.

Three (3) male witnesses reported being HIV positive and a further three male witnesses reported having hepatitis.

Finally, the Committee heard 60 reports of multiple health problems from female witnesses compared with 47 similar reports from male witnesses and male witnesses generally reported being less inclined to seek medical advice than female witnesses.