Almost 2,400 allegations of historical sexual abuse were recorded by 308 schools run by religious orders across Ireland, a scoping inquiry has revealed.
The report, set to be published later on Tuesday, said the allegations were made against 884 alleged abusers in day and boarding schools run by 42 religious orders.
The Government-appointed scoping inquiry said it had contacted 73 religious orders that ran or are still running schools in Ireland, with 42 having records of historical sexual abuse allegations.
The report said 17 were special schools, which recorded 590 allegations involving 190 alleged abusers.
It added that around half of the alleged abusers are believed to be dead.
The report was written by senior counsel Mary O’Toole, who was appointed by the Minister for Education Norma Foley. She provided Ms Foley with the report in June.
The 700-page report recommended the Government set up a commission of investigation into the allegations and to consider a redress scheme for survivors of sexual abuse in day and boarding schools.
Ms O’Toole also recommended that the Government approach the religious orders to contribute towards to a redress scheme.
Last year, the Spiritan Congregation apologised to victims of abuse and said an independent group would engage with survivors at its schools and institutions, including Dublin’s Blackrock College.
The abuse allegations go back as far as the 1970s.
The Government set up the scoping inquiry to shape its response to allegations of historical sexual abuse in boarding and day schools run by religious orders.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet on Tuesday, Taoiseach Simon Harris thanked Ms Foley for how she had “handled this extraordinarily important, sensitive issue”.
He said she was engaging with survivors of sexual abuse and this would be the approach taken by Government.
“It is a statement of fact that the minister has received the scoping report that has been carried out,” he said.
“But she and I and everybody in Government know in terms of the next steps, the people we want to know first are the survivors, are the representatives that the minister has been engaging with, and I can assure you that’s the way in which we will proceed.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
