Stormont: Abuse victims 'deeply hurt' by MLA no-show

Fiona Ryan says what happened brought back victims' feelings of rejection

A woman who represents victims of institutional abuse said they were left "deeply hurt and saddened" after too few politicians turned up to hear her make a briefing.

A Stormont committee session was abandoned on Wednesday because there were not enough members to make a quorum.

Fiona Ryan, the commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Abuse, finally got to speak to the Executive Office committee on Friday.

She acknowledged the members' apology.

But she added: "We all live in the real world where things happen.

• Abuse survivors 'let down' as Stormont meeting halted

"But at the same time, I would be neglectful if I didn't convey to this committee the deep hurt and upset of survivors at what happened on Wednesday.

"And I think it's important for all of us, in this space with a real commitment to working in this area, to understand that for many survivors they've had a lifetime of their experiences being denied or minimised and their reality being rejected. And they've spent a lifetime carrying a burden that was never theirs to take on."

She said what occured this week had, for many of them, "brought up those feelings again".

"But I know that your apology and the apology of the committee will go a long way to at least acknowledging that hurt," she said.

She said that what happened had been a "missed opportunity" and she was glad to "have the opportunity to recapture" it.

Sinead McLaughlin told MLAs it was a "serious discourtesy"

Committee chairwoman Sinead McLaughlin of the SDLP told members that while she knew what happened was unintentional "a really serious discourtesy was shown to a very vulnerable stakeholder group".

She added that the committee had been damaged as well.

Vice chairman, Ulster Unionist John Stewart, said what happened was "very poor" and "disappointing".