Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (COSICA)
HIA Inquiry · Report of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry · Issued 20 January 2017 · Addressed to: Northern Ireland Executive
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
We therefore recommend that a designated person should act as an advocate for such children, and should be responsible for ensuring the co-ordination and availability of services, and identifying suitable means whereby such services can be made available to those who need them. This person should be called the Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (COSICA).
HIA Inquiry, Report of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry · 20 Jan 2017 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- COSICA acts as an advocate for survivors and is responsible for ensuring the coordination and availability of services, as recommended by the Inquiry (COSICA, October 2020).
Sources
Response — verbatim from government
●Northern Ireland Executive
No formal government response published.
Northern Ireland Executive · 6 Oct 2020 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 6 Oct 2020 Fiona Ryan was appointed as Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (COSICA) on 6 October 2020 for a five-year term. COSICA acts as an advocate for survivors and is responsible for ensuring the co-ordination and availability of services, including counselling, welfare support and practical assistance. Source →
- 14 Dec 2020 · The Executive Office (NI) Fiona Ryan appointed as Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (COSICA) on 14 December 2020 for a five-year term, as required by the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019. View source → Confirmed Completed
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.