Ivana Bacik

The Civil Liability (Child Sexual Abuse Proceedings Unincorporated Bodies of Persons) Bill 2025 was introduced to the Dáil as a private member’s bill yesterday.

The bill seeks to ensure that religious institutions, associated trusts and other unincorporated organisations can be held liable for historic child sexual abuse committed in their care.

It will prevent unincorporated bodies from avoiding responsibility by transferring assets into complex trust arrangements, the Labour Party says.

Speaking ahead of the bill’s introduction, Ms Bacik said: “Victims are often retraumatised by flawed redress processes or dragged through lengthy legal proceedings, due to the reluctance of religious orders to fully engage in delivering justice.

“This bill aims to address that imbalance by facilitating civil proceedings against unincorporated bodies, such as religious orders, and providing a mechanism for recovering damages from the ‘associated’ trusts of these bodies.

“Successive governments have repeatedly failed to compel religious orders to pay their fair share of redress, and many continue to evade responsibility through legal and financial manoeuvring.

“This bill is about ending that evasion. Survivors of abuse deserve justice. The religious institutions that enabled or ignored abuse must be held accountable for the harm they caused.

“The bill will enable survivors to pursue civil actions directly against unincorporated orders and the trusts currently holding their assets. It follows years of calls from survivors for effective mechanisms to ensure that those responsible for abuse cannot hide behind outdated structures.”

She added: “Labour is urging all parties to support the bill and to commit to ensuring that survivors finally receive the recognition and redress they deserve.”