William Gorry, who is originally from Daingean, Co. Offaly, has joined with five fellow survivors of institutional abuse on hunger strike in a dispute over what he calls the "ill-treatment" of survivors by the government and the body set up to offer redress to survivors, Caranua.

Mr Gorry described to us in April the horror of his experience at the Mount Carmel Industrial School in Moate, Co. Westmeath, run by the Sisters of Mercy, in the 1970s.

He commenced and later cancelled a hunger strike earlier this year, but as of October 25, he has joined fellow survivors in a further hunger strike, which they plan to take to the Dáil this week.

In April, William told the Offaly Express about the physical, sexual and mental abuse he suffered at the hands of priests, nuns and lay staff at the school having been placed in the institution as a young boy.

In recent years, William has been dealing with Caranua, an independent State Body set up to help people who experienced abuse in residential institutions in Ireland and have received settlements, Redress Board or Court awards.

It was initially set up as the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board in March of 2013 under the provisions of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012, but the name was changed to Caranua in October 2013.

According to Caranua, they offer support, information, advice and advocacy to survivors, as well as providing funding for services that survivors are entitled to as they try to rebuild their lives. They claim that, "the needs of individual survivors will be at the heart of everything we do."

William Gorry has told the Offaly Express that Caranua has treated him like a "beggar." He says the body "hurt him and other survivors" and "ruined his chances at education." Mr Gorry, who now lives in Dublin, is on a blind person's pension, and remarked to us that one of the stipulations of much of that payment is that he live alone.

He has also aired grievances with the State itself, suggesting he is being effectively barred from further education or employment as he sees his applications turned down continually due to what he calls "red tape" by the Social Welfare.

William has informed the Offaly Express that he has written to the Taoiseach's office requesting a meeting with Leo Varadkar to address his concerns with his current treatment.

William has set up a campaign on uplift.ie, in which he calls for a meeting with the Taoiseach. He wants something set up to enable survivors to meet with each other and have their voices heard and funded by Department of Education.

He has also called for the CEO of Caranua to step down immediately, for the current limit of €15,000 to be removed and for survivors to be supported by Caranua.

He says he hopes his petition, which can be signed here, can result in some small happiness, respect, healing and help to survivors in order for them to move forward in their lives.

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