The permanent memorial will be unveiled at a ceremony which will take place on Friday, February 20, at Parliament Buildings, hosted by Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots.
The event marks a significant milestone following recommendations from the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry.
This week marks nine years since that inquiry recommended an apology, a memorial and compensation to survivors.
The compensation scheme – which has seen over £100m worth of public money paid to victims of historical abuse – ended in April of last year, and a public apology was delivered in 2022
In correspondence seen by the Belfast Telegraph on Friday, the Executive Office confirmed the date and praised the leadership and sustained involvement of survivors’ groups throughout the process.
Claire McKeegan (second left) and Margaret McGuckin (centre) with supporters after winning appeal that later led to the Redress Compensation Scheme
News Catch Up – Friday 16 January
The memorial is intended to honour those who suffered abuse in institutions, including those who did not live to see justice or formal acknowledgment. It will serve as a permanent and respectful reminder of the experiences of victims and survivors.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, who jointly signed the letter, thanked victims and survivors, adding: “Your continued engagement has been invaluable in helping us deliver this important recommendation of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry.
“This memorial will honour those who suffered, including those who did not live to see justice or acknowledgment, and will ensure that victims and survivors are permanently and respectfully remembered.”
Officials are expected to make further contact with survivors’ groups in the coming weeks to provide details on timings, practical arrangements, and any requirements for attendees.
Margaret McGuckin, who is the leader of Savia (Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse) welcomed the memorial, but has mixed emotions.
‘This process hung over our shoulders like a dead weight…’
“Apart from being mentally exhausted and broken, many of us have had to return to counselling, attend further doctors’ appointments, and endure feeling even more rejected, unwanted and neglected,” she told this newspaper.
“We have suffered additional shame for over 15 to 17 years, having to expose ourselves to humiliation by begging the Stormont government to establish an inquiry.
“Then came the inquiry itself, its findings, the implementation of the redress scheme, and everything else that followed – all of which went on endlessly. This was compounded by the collapse of Stormont on two or more occasions.
“We were forced to take our fight to Westminster, to the High Court through judicial reviews, and ultimately to bring the Executive Office before three High Court judges, before it was finally deemed that the Executive Office could have implemented the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry findings without ministers in place.
“Despite all of this, we are glad to finally see matters brought to a conclusion. This process hung over our shoulders like a dead weight, weighing us down and lingering on, with no closure in sight.
“We are delighted to finally have that closure and to see this plaque placed at the very centre of government, in Parliament Buildings.
“Perhaps those entering Parliament Buildings will look at this plaque and remind themselves of how long it took them to do what should have taken far less time. I hope they can learn from the many mistakes that were made, from wasting time arguing among themselves instead of getting things done for their constituencies and for the people they are highly paid to serve.
“At times, they left us more broken than we ever were in the first place, because they continually took their eyes off the ball.
“This was a government that, at times, did not know what the right hand was doing from the left, with little understanding of how to actually deliver what was required.”
The Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry in 2017, led by Sir Anthony Hart, studied allegations of abuse in 22 homes and other residential institutions over more than seven decades.
These were facilities run by the state, local authorities, the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and the children’s charity Barnardo’s.
The Court of Appeal later ruled that the Executive Office had failed in its duty to provide for the victims.