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The Establishment of the Role of Special Advocate
This section on the website contains information about how and why the role of Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse was established.
About the Role
The position of Special Advocate was established by the Irish Government as part of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth’s (DCEDIY) Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions.
The Action Plan recognises that the response of government to the legacy of these institutions must be directly informed by the voices of those most centrally affected and contains a number of measures designed to address broader experiences of institutional trauma.
The appointment of a Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse fulfils a core commitment in the Irish Government’s Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions.
Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions
The Irish government published an Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions on 16 November 2021. The aim of the Action Plan is to support the implementation of the 22 commitments made by Government in January 2021 to respond to the priority needs and concerns of those who spent time in those institutions.
More information can be found on the Department of Children, Disability and Equality’s website
You can view the Action Plan at the link below.
Key Commitments in the Action Plan
The Appointment Of the Special Advocate for Survivors
Following an open recruitment process overseen by the Public Appointments Service, Patricia Carey was appointed to the role of Special Advocate for Survivors by then Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman on 25 March 2024.