4 days ago
Significant increase in allegations of abuse against Catholic Church members
There has been a significant increase in the number of new allegations notified to the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI).
Last year there were 385 allegations of abuse, up from 252 the previous year.
Its latest annual report, which covers the period between April 2024 and March 2025, shows a rise of over 50% in new allegations.
It is the highest number of any reporting period since the NBSCCCI began publishing the annual figures in 2009.
The increase was predominantly from September of 2024 and coincided with the release of the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools run by Religious Orders.
Along with the subsequent media coverage, this appears to have enabled individuals to come forward.
As has been the pattern in recent years the vast majority of allegations relate to the period from 1960 to 1989 with 282 of the 385, or 73%, in this category.
Two related to the period post-2000.
The NBSCCCI said this should be caveated with the fact that 47, or 12%, did not have a definite timeframe attributed to them.
The national board has a number of roles, which includes advising individual Church bodies on best child safeguarding practice, which is done through case management advice, training, and policy review.
In the 2024/2025 period, the number of requests for safeguarding advice also increased from 281 to 287 according to the report.
The 2024/25 reporting year was also the final year for completing and reporting Reviews of Safeguarding practice in dioceses and across religious orders under the 2016 child safeguarding policy.
By the end of 2025, the NBSCCCI says it anticipates beginning a review process looking at practice under the three standards of current Church policy (2024).
