NEWS
Irish Times, 7 July 2007
Victim of abuse cannot pursue action for damages
Mary Carolan
A man whose life was blighted after he was seriously
physically and sexually abused at a residential school operated by the
Brothers of Charity cannot proceed with an action for damages against
the State and Southern Health Board (SHB), the High Court has decided.
Because a settlement of £28,000, secured by John Barrett (53) in a 1999
action brought by him against the Brothers of Charity, was recorded at
that time as "full and final settlement of all claims", he could not now
proceed with his action against the Southern Health Board and the State,
Mr Justice Éamon de Valera ruled yesterday.
The 1999 settlement was made without admission of liability. In his
action against the health board and State, Mr Barrett, The Ballagh,
Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, claimed the health authorities and the State
failed to properly inspect or inquire into what was going on at Our Lady
of Good Counsel school at Lota, Glanmire, Cork. Moreover, he claimed his
experiences there blighted his life, leading to problems with drink,
depression and sexual relationships.
Although his parents were then still alive, he was admitted to Lota on
the application of the Cork Health Authority in 1961 at the age of nine
after he was mitching from school where he was being allegedly beaten
for failing to write with his right hand. He claimed he was subject to
serious and frequent sexual abuse until he left Lota at the age of 16.
The abuse included being buggered on three or four nights a week for
two- to three-hour periods each night, he claimed. A Brother Ambrose,
also known as James Kelly, had been convicted and sentenced to 36 years
on charges relating to that abuse and also relating to abuse of other
boys at Lota.
Mr Barrett claimed other Brothers also abused him.
Mr Justice De Valera delivered his reserved judgment yesterday on an
application - made in March 2006 - by the health board and State
defendants (the Ministers for Health and Children and Education and
Science, Ireland and the Attorney General) for an order dismissing the
proceedings on grounds of the earlier settlement, delay, and because,
they claimed, the proceedings were brought outside the legal time
limits.
Mr Justice De Valera said Mr Barrett's claim against the SHB and State
was initiated in July 2000. A defence was filed by the SHB in 2001 but
no defence had been filed by the other defendants.
The judge noted that certain facts alleged by Mr Barrett, including that
he was admitted to Lota in 1961, when he was described as suffering from
a mild mental subnormality, and that he was physically and sexually
abused there, were not contradicted. It was also not contradicted that
Mr Barrett was able to read on admission to Lota but not to write and
had received no further education there. It was also uncontradicted that
Mr Barrett developed severe alcoholism and depression from early adult
life which was professionally diagnosed as having been caused by the
abuses suffered at Lota and that he was psychologically inhibited from
disclosing abuses until 1997.
Mr Justice De Valera said he was satisfied that the defendants are
"concurrent wrongdoers" within the provisions of section 2 of the Civil
Liability Act 1961 and that other provisions of that Act applied to the
case, including section 16 which provided that, where a person suffers
damage as a result of concurrent wrongs, satisfaction by any wrongdoer
"shall discharge the others whether such others have been sued to
judgment or not".
Section 16, when applied to this case, discharged the SHB and State
defendants in circumstances where Mr Barrett's claim had been fully
satisfied, the judge ruled.
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