10,992 entries for Inspections - State
BackThe majority of witnesses were in care for more than six years. The average length of stay for male witnesses was seven and a half years and the average length of stay for female witnesses was 11 years. Table 14 below shows the length of stay in out-of-home care for both male and female witnesses:<br><table><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><thead><tr><th><strong>Length of stay in care</strong></th>
 <th><strong>Males</strong></th>
 <th><strong>%</strong></th>
 <th><strong>Females</strong></th>
 <th><strong>%</strong></th>
 <th><strong>Total witnesses</strong></th>
 <th><strong>%</strong></th>
 </tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>0–5 years</td>
 <td>181</td>
 <td>44</td>
 <td>53</td>
 <td>14</td>
 <td>234</td>
 <td>30</td>
 </tr><tr><td>6–10 years</td>
 <td>109</td>
 <td>26</td>
 <td>103</td>
 <td>27</td>
 <td>212</td>
 <td>27</td>
 </tr><tr><td>11–15 years</td>
 <td>99</td>
 <td>24</td>
 <td>181</td>
 <td>48</td>
 <td>280</td>
 <td>35</td>
 </tr><tr><td>16+ years</td>
 <td>24</td>
 <td>6</td>
 <td>41</td>
 <td>11</td>
 <td>65</td>
 <td>8</td>
 </tr><tr><td><strong>Total</strong></td>
 <td><strong>413</strong></td>
 <td><strong>100</strong></td>
 <td><strong>378</strong></td>
 <td><strong>100</strong></td>
 <td><strong>791</strong></td>
 <td><strong>100</strong></td>
 </tr></tbody></table>
As the table shows, 345 witnesses (44%), 123 male (30%) and 222 female (59%), were in out-of-home care for more than 10 years. Two hundred and thirty four (234) witnesses (30%), 181 male and 53 female, were in out-of-home care for five years or less.
Witnesses admitted to Schools for committing an offence under sections 57(1) and 58(3) of the Children Act, 1908 were generally admitted at a later age and for a briefer and defined period of time than those admitted under section 58(1)(b). For the female witnesses brief admissions to Schools were an unusual experience and in most instances reflected admissions at a later age in the context of a family crisis or an offence.
Four hundred and eleven (411) of the 791 witnesses (52%), 198 male and 213 female, were discharged from the Schools when they were 16 years of age or older. With the exception of admission to Reformatory Schools, it was most often reported that court-ordered admissions were until the witness was 16 years rather than for a specified number of years. Seventy five (75) witnesses were discharged before their 14th birthday, 30 of whom were male and 45 female. Table 15 shows the age of discharge for both male and female witnesses.<br><table><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><thead><tr><th><strong>Age when discharged</strong></th>
 <th><strong>Males</strong></th>
 <th><strong>%</strong></th>
 <th><strong>Females</strong></th>
 <th><strong>%</strong></th>
 <th><strong>Total witnesses</strong></th>
 <th><strong>% </strong></th>
 </tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><10 years</td>
 <td>3</td>
 <td>1</td>
 <td>11</td>
 <td>3</td>
 <td>14</td>
 <td>2</td>
 </tr><tr><td>10–13 years</td>
 <td>27</td>
 <td>7</td>
 <td>34</td>
 <td>9</td>
 <td>61</td>
 <td>8</td>
 </tr><tr><td>14–16 years</td>
 <td>315</td>
 <td>76</td>
 <td>243</td>
 <td>64</td>
 <td>558</td>
 <td>71</td>
 </tr><tr><td>17+ years</td>
 <td>68</td>
 <td>16</td>
 <td>90</td>
 <td>24</td>
 <td>158</td>
 <td>20</td>
 </tr><tr><td><strong>Total</strong></td>
 <td><strong>413</strong></td>
 <td><strong>100</strong></td>
 <td><strong>378</strong></td>
 <td><strong>100</strong></td>
 <td><strong>791</strong></td>
 <td><strong>(100)*</strong></td>
 </tr></tbody></table>
Five hundred and fifty eight (558) witnesses (71%) left the School system between the ages of 14 and 16 years. Of those, 319 witnesses (40%), 130 male (31%) and 189 female (50%), reported being discharged when they were 16 years old. A further 158 witnesses (20%) were discharged up to 10 years later. Forty eight (48) of those witnesses, six male and 42 female, reported being kept on to work either within the School or for an individual or a service associated with the School.
Sixty nine (69) witnesses, 19 male and 50 female, who remained in the School system after their 16th birthday, had been in institutional care since they were aged three years or younger and were regarded as orphans, having no known family contact. Thirty eight (38) male witnesses who were discharged over the age of 16 years were admitted under Court Orders that permitted their detention until they were 18 years old. Sixteen (16) witnesses, eight male and eight female, remained residents in the School after their 16th birthday to continue secondary education.7
The next five chapters of the Report summarise the evidence provided by witnesses regarding family contact, everyday experiences and abuse while in the Schools.
This chapter presents a range of information provided in relation to witnesses’ families, including witnesses designated as ‘orphans’ who in fact had living parents. The extent of information provided by witnesses to the Committee about family contact was determined by numerous factors, particularly the availability of family information to the witnesses themselves. In most instances where family information was available, witnesses generally reported having siblings or relatives and that they lived at home or with extended family for some time prior to their admission to out-of-home care.1
Witnesses who had been in care since birth were too young at the time to recall what happened to them. ‘I don’t know why I was there, where I was before, who sent me there ... no idea what happened.’ Others were unclear about the detail of their family circumstances but remembered being admitted to out-of-home care with their brothers and sisters and at times being visited by relatives. A number of these witnesses learned subsequently that they had lived with their parents and/or relatives for some time before being admitted to care, but had no sense of being part of a family network while they were in the School system. Many other witnesses had clear memories of living with their parents or with their relatives before their admission and maintained contact with their family throughout their time in institutional care.
Six hundred and eighty four (684) witnesses (86%) reported having siblings, of whom 256 male (62%) and 270 female (71%), reported having brothers and/or sisters who were also in out-of-home care. A further 59 witnesses reported they did not know enough about their family circumstances to know whether or not they had siblings in care. The Committee heard evidence that 2,275 children were placed in out-of-home care from the families of these witnesses. Most, but not all, of those children were placed in Industrial Schools. A number were also placed in Children’s Homes, foster homes and other institutions.
Two hundred and fourteen (214) witnesses who attended the Committee had at least one other sibling who also attended hearings with the Committee. In total these witnesses represented 86 families.2
The most common pattern reported by witnesses admitted as part of a family group was of being taken to Court along with their siblings and from there being transferred to one or more Schools. Admissions of family groups generally occurred in the context of a family crisis or intervention in circumstances of illness, poverty or neglect. Most often siblings were reported to be separated, younger boys being sent to junior or mixed Industrial Schools and the girls were admitted to girls Schools. Boys over the age of 10 years were admitted to senior boys Schools. My first memory ... I was taken to ...named School... with my sisters in the car. ...(I was)... 4 years. ... I did observe the garda car turning into the ...named girls School... and I knew then that was where my sisters were going. My youngest brother stayed with my grandmother, we lived within a stones throw of the School. I started crying for my sisters and got a slap across the face, that was my first experience of ...named School.... • I didn’t know I had sisters until I was over 10 or so ... I wasn’t even told they ...(X and Y)... were my sisters, I thought they were just other girls that were in there like me. I didn’t know I had a brother. I was 2 when I went in there, he was in ...named boys School... When he was 16 he came to see us. ... I couldn’t believe I had a brother, there was no bond there....
Six hundred and twenty eight (628) of the 791 witnesses (79%), 349 male (85%) and 279 female (74%), reported having resided with parents or relatives prior to their admission to out-of-home care. Although many of these witnesses reported having no memory of family contact they became aware of their family identity in more recent years through records they obtained under the Freedom of Information Acts, 1997 and 2003 and through subsequently re-established relationships.
A further 110 witnesses (14%), 46 male and 64 female, reported being in out-of-home care, including mother and baby homes, foster care, hostels or county homes, since birth. On the basis of what subsequently became known to them about their admission many of the witnesses surmised that they were with their mothers for various periods of time from their birth before they were placed in the School system. Other witnesses reported that they learned in recent years that the possibility of their placement with members of their extended family was not explored at the time. There was a space on the form... (admission documents)...(which stated)... “Was the guardian informed?”...It just said “Nil”.There was no effort to place me with...named relative...She was quite clear she would have had me, had she known.
Fifty three (53) witnesses (7%), 17 male and 36 female, reported having been in out-of-home care since birth. At the time of their hearing no contact had ever been made by relatives or through family tracing services and they described their past as a mystery.