Over 130 claims of abuse and neglect made against teachers

More than 130 allegations of physical, sexual or emotional abuse and neglect were made against teachers in Irish schools over a four-year period.

Figures from the Department of Education detail an average of around 33 child protection concerns that had to be investigated each year between 2019 and 2022. There were 42 allegations of emotional abuse and 31 allegations of sexual abuse, which made up more than half of the total complaints.

The department said there had also been 18 child protection reports of physical abuse and a single case of neglect.

In some cases, there was more than one allegation made, according to the data, which was released under FOI.

Eleven child protection concerns involving both emotional and physical abuse were reported as were 14 cases involving both physical and sexual abuse.

There were also a small number of allegations in the categories of “neglect and physical abuse” (one), “neglect and sexual abuse” (three) and 12 cases that were listed as “unknown”.

The department said data for last year was not yet available. It also said the figures did not cover cases involving school principals, including teaching principals. An information note said: “It should be noted that although reported in these years, the allegation may refer to other years.”

Overall, there were 24 child protection concerns raised in 2019 and 17 in 2020, which was unusually low as many schools were closed for significant periods due to the pandemic.

The numbers then rose to 47 in 2021 and 45 in 2022. A spokesman for the department said any allegation of a child protection nature was dealt with in accordance with strict departmental procedures.

“Under these procedures, the department ensures that details of the concern reported to the department are immediately passed on to the relevant investigatory authorities, including Tusla, the school authorities and/or An Garda Síochána,” he said.

He added that its inspectorate had carried out a total of 2,255 school inspections during 2022, of which 100 were child protection and safeguarding inspections.