HIA-3 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (COSICA)

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).

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
Fiona Ryan was appointed as the 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 (The Executive Office (NI), 14 December 2020). COSICA acts as an advocate for survivors, promoting their interests and ensuring the coordination and availability of services (The Executive Office (NI), 14 December 2020; Gov.uk progress, 6 October 2020).
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
Northern Ireland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Northern Ireland Executive
06 Oct 2020

No formal government response published.

Read Full Response
Progress Timeline
Official Report
06 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
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Confirmed Completed
14 Dec 2020
The Executive Office (NI) Other

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 detailed findings

COSICA is established under the HIA (NI) Act 2019. The Commissioner's principal aim is to promote the interests of any person who suffered abuse while a child and while resident in an institution at some time between 1922 and 1995. Fiona Ryan was previously Chief Executive of Sonas Domestic Violence Charity in Ireland.

The Executive Office announcement of COSICA appoi… View Source
Source
Inquiry HIA Inquiry
Report Report of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry 20 Jan 2017
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Northern Ireland Executive Primary
Themes & Tags
Poor health and social care integration Apology Recognition Victims Commissioner Advocacy Survivors
Recommendation age 9.2 yrs
Last formal update 1995 days ago