Lady O'Loan calls for an independent investigation across Ireland following the Cloyne report into abuse by priests

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Northern Ireland's first police ombudsman and one of its most prominent Catholics has called for an island-wide independent investigation into clerical child abuse.

Lady O'Loan's call comes in the aftermath of the Cloyne report into priests who sexually abused children in the Co Cork diocese.

The Archbishop of Cloyne, Dr Dermot Clifford, issued a written apology on Sunday to all victims of abuse which was read out at masses across the diocese.

The report concluded that abuse allegations against priests in Cloyne had not been properly handled by the former bishop John Magee, who was a confidante to three popes when he worked for the Vatican in Rome.

O'Loan told Radio Ulster this morning that children's safety came before the cost of any such investigation.

"I think what we need is an independent investigation system which would operate across the island of Ireland which would be funded by the bishops. It would be expensive but it would not be nearly as expensive as having children being abused."

O'Loan headed a number of highly controversial reports into the behaviour of police in Northern Ireland including a critical examination of how the Royal Ulster Constabulary mishandled the Omagh bomb inquiry – the single biggest atrocity of the Troubles.

Her demand carries weight as O'Loan is a devout Catholic and a leading lay figure in the church in Northern Ireland.

The letter from Clifford highlights "the consistent failure" to report allegations of abuse to gardaí and the health authorities.

It was revealed that the Vatican backed the diocese in ignoring the Irish church's own guidelines on child protection.

Clifford's letter tells the people of Cloyne that they are entitled to expect that all abuse complaints will be handled according to official church guidelines and he is truly sorry that this has not always been the case.