Deputy Montfort Tadier, a member of political party Reform Jersey who helped to secure political and public backing for the inquiry, said that a balance needed to be met between prudent spending and ensuring the inquiry gets to the truth.
Ireland – (Approx £100 million)
The Government of Ireland initiated an inquiry into institutional child abuse in 1999. The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) took 10 years to complete its task – which involved speaking to more than 1,500 witnesses.
Australia – (£260 million)
The Royal Commission in Australia began investigating institutional child sex abuse two years ago and is not due to finish until 2017. The inquiry has a budget of $500 billion Australian dollars and a team of 270 staff.
Cleveland, UK (£4 million)
His comments follow the revelation that the cost of the inquiry could hit £20 million – more than three times its original estimate. Ministers have agreed to increase the inquiry’s budget from £6m to £9m and discussions are now taking place over just how much higher the final cost might be.
Current estimates, the JEP has learned, start at £14m and rise to as much as £20m.
Deputy Tadier said the most important thing was to ensure that the inquiry could find out the truth about what went wrong in Jersey’s care system.
However he said that questions still needed to be asked about how the money was being spent.
‘The prime concern is not the money per se, it is the fact that we need an effective committee of inquiry which is going to find the truth – that is the most important thing,’ he said.
‘We have committed to a course of action but that doesn’t mean we should not be financially prudent.
‘Of course there will be questions that need to be asked about the financial management and it will be interesting to see at some point exactly where the fees are racking up. For example what fees are being paid to the States representation and is that proportionate?
‘For example when the States are sending their lawyers down on behalf of departments I would want to know that it is proportionate – are there times when actually they are sending three lawyers down when one would suffice or perhaps a secretarial member of staff? I don’t know that is happening but I would like to know.’
He added: ‘Fundamentally the lesson to learn from this is that child abuse is socially costly, personally to those who were abused but it is also financially costly.
‘And we should learn from that as a society.’
Ministers are due to publish a report shortly detailing the full costs of the inquiry to date and projections for how much it could cost once complete.
2007
TOWARDS the end of the year the then deputy police chief, Lenny Harper, announced that the States police were investigating alleged historical child abuse at former States children’s homes.
An appeal for information was also launched and the investigation was overseen by police chief Graham Power.
2008
ARRESTS relating to the abuse investigation began to be made at the end of January.
A few months later Mr Harper, the senior investigating officer, revealed that his team was excavating the former children’s home at Haut de la Garenne and that they had found what appeared to be a fragment of bone.
The announcement led to a swathe of lurid headlines in national newspapers, which carried stories of child torture and possible murder. In August Mr Harper retired and was replaced by David Warcup, a former deputy chief constable of Northumbria police.
Towards the end of the year Mr Warcup and the investigation’s new senior officer, Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell, said that after a review of the evidence gathered, no child murders took place at Haut de la Garenne.
They also concluded that no bodies had been hidden or burned.
At the same time police chief Graham Power was suspended for his alleged poor handling of the abuse inquiry, but a report later found that he had been removed without proper evidence of incompetence.
2009
IN May the fragment of material said to potentially have been part of a child’s skull was sent to botanists at Kew Gardens at the request of Det Supt Gradwell.
The report that followed confirmed that it was, in fact, a piece of coconut.
Also, Islanders arrested and convicted of abuse offences as part of the investigation began to be sentenced in 2009 as well.
2010
THE Wiltshire Constabulary’s report – an independent review of the handling of the Haut de la Garenne investigation into child abuse – was published in 2010.
It levelled strong criticism at former police chief Graham Power and his deputy, Lenny Harper, for their handling of the investigation.
The Royal Court secured convictions against the last people involved in the abuse investigation.
Following this, the victims of child abuse received a formal apology from the then Chief Minister, Terry Le Sueur, who said that they had been let down by the system.
In June, 40 people who claimed they had suffered abuse while in States care made compensation claims.
The year 2010 also saw a report into the financial management of the abuse investigation published in July.
It found that public funds had been misspent on expensive meals, accommodation and first-class travel.
It also emerged that the total police costs for the three-year investigation had reached £7.5 million.
2011
FOLLOWING a proposition brought by Senator Francis Le Gresley, the States agreed to hold an inquiry into allegations of historical child abuse after the Haut de la Garenne investigation.
2012
AFTER a former Islander’s book was published, making claims of abuse at the former Grouville Girls’ Home, the police confirmed that six women had made complaints about the home to the force during the course of the historical child abuse investigation.
However, the police said that there was too little evidence in relation to the claims to mount a prosecution.
The author of the book, Jean Neil, included details of alleged abuse she suffered at the home between 1941 and 1951 in ‘Chairbound to Heavenbound’.
And 2012 also saw Jimmy Savile linked to Haut de la Garenne after pictures of the disgraced BBC star surfaced and were published in newspapers and online.
One online Daily Mail headline read: ‘Savile pictured at the Jersey House of Horrors: Paedophile DJ is surrounded by children at care home where 192 suffered abuse’.
2013
IT was hoped that the public inquiry into historical child abuse would get going in 2013, but half-way through the year Sally Bradley QC, the States-appointed chairman of the Committee of Inquiry, suffered a stroke.
The inquiry was delayed while a new chairman was found.
A few months later Frances Oldham QC, a senior lawyer with extensive experience in dealing with cases involving sexual abuse, was appointed to lead the inquiry.
She was joined by abuse inquiry panel members Alyson Leslie, who has led serious case reviews into child abuse, and Sandy Cameron CBE, a former director of social work in Scotland.
In one of the last States sittings of the year, it was revealed that 64 per cent of claims for compensation for historical abuse had been settled.
Chief Minister Ian Gorst said that 131 claims had been received, 84 offers of compensation had been accepted, with 47 cases still under consideration.
2014
