By Jennifer Hough
Monday, November 22, 2010
THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has received two separate requests to investigate a Cork-based charity for survivors of institutional abuse.
Tom Hayes of the Alliance survivor group and Patrick Walsh of SOCA [survivors of child abuse] recently wrote to the PAC raising concerns about Right of Place, an organisation which has received at least €2.4 million from the HSE since 2002, a further €1m from the Department of Education and funds from the National Lottery.
“We as a group have raised these concerns with the Department of Education and Skills and with the Residential Institutions Redress Unit in Athlone over many years,” Mr Hayes wrote to Bernard Allen, chairman of the committee.
“Indeed, the Alliance wrote to every councillor in Cork and asked that they please look again at the facilities in Lower Glanmire Road called Right of Place. We emailed the mayor also and asked that he withdraws the facilities at that address because of our concerns.”
Mr Walsh said SOCA and others had for “many years” been complaining about the “extraordinary conduct” of the group. Mr Walsh said nothing short of a full inquiry would suffice.
In a separate letter to HSE manager David Gaskin, who has sanctioned funding to Right of Place over the years, Mr Hayes asked why he was continuing to allow the “debacle” to continue.
“We have tried to raise the difficulties that we and other survivors were having because of your failures, we wrote to you and informed you of these, we visited Cork and held meetings with former residents to properly inform ourselves of the situation and then contacted you again, without any acknowledgement from you and others responsible for regulating or holding to account those responsible for the day to day running of Right of Place,” he wrote.
“You have done a great disservice to survivors. You have compounded this by your complete failure to act in a credible way with any integrity.”
The PAC said it had referred the matter to the HSE and the Department of Education for notes.
Meanwhile although Right of Place, founded by former Upton resident Noel Barry, claims to have 1,500 members, and has received funding on this basis, it is understood there may be far less than that.
Another former Upton resident living in Britain contacted the Irish Examiner saying he was a member of this group up to about a year ago.
“I notified Noel Barry that I wished my name to be removed from their databank. I never received a reply. Last week I received a letter from a Mr Michael Walsh, addressed to me as ‘Dear Member’, and which poses a few questions from me – just where did he get my address and details, and it would appear that his new group is simply taking over from where the old group left off. They will carry on receiving funding from the HSE, on the back of members they claim to represent, but it is so wrong, as they were never mandated to do this, and I certainly did not request them to represent me.”
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Monday, November 22, 2010
we are sick of all the lies..we are tired of waiting for answers i dont belive anyone from right of place .they talk a good line and we dont know where to turn next soon we will be to old maby that is what they are waiting for a good luck to us all
Paddy,
From where I sit in the desert Mr. Cowan and company will shortly be looking for other employment. The American news here blames him for the state of the Irish melt down. We have bladdered enough amongst ourselves hoping for someone to hear us and our feelings towards the Fund proposed. One has taken that step further and drawn the attention of the press and the corruption of the groups, thanks Jimmy, like myself he wrote to the examiner and was published, unfortunately, the reporter that was to publish my article has somehow dissapeared from the Independant, but I will keep trying and wish that all our friends here would do the same, write to any press and let the public hear our voices.
I signed a ballot to nominate Paddy as my spokesperson and I hope that that has been received. I did have a glitch but that has been corrected.
Seanie.
Bill, Portia, for me, the great thing here is , Thank’s to Paddy, we have a site that is allowing us to air our view’s and opinion’s, and on top of that we have the indication that Paddy is willing to be our spokesman, and the voting process is now in action to give Paddy the necessary Mandate. Full detail’s are published on this site and Shame of Ireland,thank’s to Kay and Rob. It has taken off, and is collecting vote’s from all over the globe, and between us all , we can push home our issue’s and stand united, and the Government folk who read the various post’s here, will no doubt see the further damage that has been inflicted on all Survivor’s, by the so called Group’s who are now acting illegally!
As you will read on this site, and indeed thank’s to this site, issue’s have been raised and published by the Cork Examiner, and i am confident that in time other Leading Newspaper’s will also expose these group’s , and lead to proper investigation by the Government , the Religious, and the HSE.
Write / email all the Government dept’s, and the leading Irish newspaper’s, and show them that allthough we are in our elder year’s, we are not to be written off, we all Survived the Gulag’s of Holy Ireland, and do not intend to stand by, and experience further Abuse !
Paddy is well respected, trusted, and admired by the Government Official’s, and the same apply’s here, judging by the various post’s, so please give your vote to Paddy , to be our voice! HE CLEARLY SUPPORT’S US, SO PLEASE SUPPORT HIM.
Jimmy
Mandate for Paddy to Represent Survivors
Will all those in favour of Paddy to act as spokesperson please sign petition below
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/mandate-for-paddy-doyle-to-represent-survivors/
Many Thanks Kay
it is a bit like asking the mafia to investigate itself.!
AS FAR AS THESE GROUPES ARE CONCERNED IT IS UP TOO US
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEM.
GET RIG OF THE LOT OF THEM ONCE AND FOR ALL,WE WILL HAVE BREAK THEIR DOMINATION AND POWER AND THE ONLY WAY TO DO
THIS IS TO GO THROUGH THE COURTS.
IF SOME ONE BROKE INTO YOUR HOUSE AND STOLE YOUR MONEY
YOU USE THE LAW TO PROSECUTE THEM
THE GOVERNMENT ROBBED US OF OUR RIGHTS WHEN THEY
TOOK 300M TOWARDS THE REDRESS BOARD PAYBACK 200M
FOR THE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL AND 110 FOR A TRUST FUND
WHAT DID THESE GROUPES DO MOST OF THEM WENT ALONG
WITH THE GOVERNMENT,(WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE)AND THEY
STILL ARE SPOKESMEN AND SPOKESWOMAM(BUCKLEY)FOR US.
WHAT DID WE DO, NOTHING!. WE MUST GET RID OF THE LOT OF THEM NOW.TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR US WE ARE ALL IN OUR 60/70S THE WAY THIS FARCE IS GOING WE WILL ALL BE DEAD.
WHY CANT WE HIRE A BARRISTER TO REPESENT US AND TAKE OUR CASE TO THE COURTS ITS THE ONLY WAY LEFT FOR US
WE NEED TO TAKE ONE TEST CASE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS
OTHERWISE WE CAN SAY GOODBYE TO EVERTHING.
MAY GOD FORGIVE THEM FOR THE WAY THEY BETRAYED AND ABUSED US TO FEATHER THEIR OWN NESTS
BILL
All the group’s need to be looked into, and respond to the various question’s put to them here. Like giving good honest account of how many member’s they actually have? How many secret meeting’s they have attended with Government Official’s? Why the secracy about those meeting’s , Why the detail’s of their funding are not revealed , and why do they insist they are representing Survivor’s at these so called meeting’s? Especially when most never hear from them , or meet a brick wall when questioned!
Like the present Irish Government, these group’s are well passed their sell by date, they know it, and these latest secret meeting with TD’s and the leaked rumour that these 3 had done an about turn and are now on the Survivor’s side, are clear indication’s of panic, given that they simply do not have a mandate to speak for the many here!
Some of these group’s , when first started, did give the impression, that they were their for their member’s, but the interest soon died a death, and the crap that has been exposed over the last few year’s clearly showed that hardly any of them merit support, and it is a fact that their
conduct has cost them dearly. Their day’s are numbered, they are no longer trusted, and Survivor’s have been more than ABUSED enough!
We need those group’s now, to go the same route, as the Government are about to go,they are all tarred with the same brush!
Jimmy.
Like the “Holy Trinity”………………it’s a mystery!!!!! Or like the KGB, it’s a secret!!!
It’s interesting that Mr. Hayes raised ‘concerns’ about Right of Place to the Dept. of Education ! If my reading of the Ryan Report is aright weren’t the Dept. of Education responsible for the Industrial Schools … wasn’t it this Dept. that turned a blind eye to the abuses that were being perpetuate by the Religious Orders? And one of those orders, the Christian Brothers, seems to have an intimate relationship with one of the so-called ‘survivor representatives group’. Could Mr. Hayes enlighten us all on his relationship with the known Religious Orders?
Why on earth talk to this Government Dept – a Department of Government that lost so many files on the Industrial Schools that it’s a wonder Laffoy and Ryan were able to complete their inquiry.
What part did this Dept. of Government have in the resignation of Justice Laffoy? Maybe Mr. Hayes, with his contacts in that Dept. and his contacts in the Religious Orders, could enlighten us!
When are organisations purporting to representing “survivors of abuse” going to realise that they are doing more harm than good and that they are in real danger of losing the public support “survivors” have had over the years, particularly since the publication of the Report of the Commission to Enquire into Child Abuse (The Ryan Report).