Stormont evidence session with abuse victims advocate to be reconvened

Survivors of historical institutional abuse were left feeling snubbed earlier in the week when a meeting was ended early due to the lack of MLAs.

Two PSNI officers on duty outside the Stormont buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland (PA) (PA Wire)

The Executive Office’s oversight committee is set to be recalled to resume hearing evidence from the advocate for survivors of historical institutional abuse.

A session with Fiona Ryan, Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse, was cut short on Wednesday after the number of MLAs present fell below the required quorum with only three remaining.

Abuse survivors expressed their disgust at what happened, while Ms Ryan voiced disappointment.

Sinead McLaughlin (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Archive)

Committee chair Sinead McLaughlin (SDLP) apologised, saying it should never have happened.

She has reconvened the meeting to take place on Friday to allow Ms Ryan to complete her evidence, which touched on the work of her office, views on the long-awaited public apology to abuse survivors and future plans.

Ms McLaughlin said she spent Wednesday evening speaking with victims, adding “it was very clear they had been deeply hurt by what happened at committee”.

“These people have been through so much over the years, they have had to fight long and hard, first to get an inquiry into what happened to them and then for adequate compensation,” she said.

“Now, with light at the end of the tunnel, victims were left feeling snubbed by what took place.

“No MLA should ever contribute to the negative experience of victims and it’s deeply regrettable this was the case.

“After much engagement with victims and the commissioner, I thought the best way forward was to reconvene this meeting as quickly as possible to give MLAs the opportunity to right this wrong and to show some of us are willing to do all we can to help victims in their quest for justice.

“This whole sorry episode highlights the need for greater care and sensitivity from our MLAs when carrying out their duties.

“I know Christmas is nearly upon us and we all have extremely busy constituency offices, but MLAs must remain fully engaged with our full breadth of duties and our committee responsibilities.

“I hope victims will be encouraged by my attempt to quickly rectify this situation and that lessons will be learnt to ensure we never find ourselves in this position again.”