Stormont officials are set to install a permanent memorial for victims of historical institutional abuse (HIA) this year. This move comes seven years after an HIA inquiry recommended an apology, compensation, and a memorial for survivors. The compensation scheme has now been implemented, and a public apology was delivered in 2022. Plans for a memorial bench at Stormont are advanced, but not all survivors approve.
The bench is part of a wider “phased approach” to accommodate a range of views from victims and survivors. Stormont officials will work with victims and survivors on the wording of the plaque and an unveiling event. The Executive Office said that two further phases of implementation will follow, including the installation of localised memorials and a wider memorial programme. The lack of a power-sharing executive for nearly two years due to DUP opposition over post-Brexit trade rules has delayed many important decisions.
Margaret McGuckin, from the campaign group Savia (Survivors & Victims of Institutional Abuse), has been supportive of the plans for a bench at Stormont. However, other survivors have previously indicated that they would prefer money to be used for bursaries or “living memorials”. Gerry McCann, from the Rosetta Trust, said its members felt that a memorial bench was a “huge missed opportunity”, which had left victims and survivors feeling hurt and insulted. Survivors North West’s Jon McCourt suggested a “roving exhibition” for a “living memorial”.
The Assembly Commission said both it and the Speaker Alex Maskey are “committed to playing their part” in ensuring that the victims and survivors of HIA are remembered. The HIA Inquiry studied allegations of abuse in 22 homes and other residential institutions between 1922 to 1995. These were facilities run by the state, local authorities, the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, and the children’s charity Barnardo’s. Sir Anthony Hart led the public inquiry and found that there was widespread abuse and mistreatment of young residents across the institutions
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