Sage Advocacy has urged survivors of Ireland’s industrial and reformatory schools to apply for education and wellbeing supports – worth €6,000 – which are available to them.

This follows a formal State apology by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin last February, when he also launched a package of health and education supports for eligible survivors.

Sage Advocacy is the National Advocacy Service for Older People and Survivors of Institutional Abuse. The Sage nationwide team of advocates supports survivors, on a one-to-one basis, to access information about services to which they are entitled and, where possible, provides support in accessing these services.

The announcement includes two types of education supports formal and informal.

Formal education supports are for structured learning, such as accredited education or training programmes. These require applicants to provide confirmation of enrolment.

Informal supports can be accessed without proof of enrolment and may be suitable for those interested in personal development, wellbeing and less formal learning.

Sage Advocacy Project Manager Damian O’Farrell said: “Sage Advocacy would encourage eligible survivors of industrial and reformatory schools, who are not interested in returning to formal education, to consider accessing these informal wellbeing supports.”

The informal supports:

• Can be accessed through a straightforward and simple application process
• Do not require proof of enrolment, or receipts
• Can be used for a wide range of personal development, learning or wellbeing activities
• Provide up to €600 per year for 10 years, amounting to €6,000.

Raising awareness of the distinction between formal and informal education supports can help ensure that survivors are informed about the options available and can make choices that best suit their needs.

Sage Advocacy’s service is free of charge, consent-based and confidential. It acts independently of family members, service providers and system interests, whether church, State or institutional.

Sage’s motto is: ‘Nothing About You, Without You’. It can be contacted at 01 536 7330, or email info@sageadvocacy.ie. See www.sageadvocacy.ie

Further information

Ronan Cavanagh, Cavanagh Communications: 086 317 9731 ronan@cavanaghcommunications.ie 

Sage Advocacy is the National Advocacy Service for Older People and Survivors of Institutional Abuse. It works to ensure that people have easy access to information, support, independent advocacy and safeguarding services in all settings: homes, day centres, respite facilities, congregated care settings / nursing homes, hospitals, hostels, hospices and in the process of transition between them. Sage Advocacy is fully funded from public sources, chiefly the HSE and the Department of Education, with additional funding from the Department of Justice.