The Health Service Executive (HSE) has challenged the authority of the Ombudsman for Children to investigate how it handled audits of abuse in Catholic dioceses.Last month, ombudsman Emily Logan started an investigation into how the HSE conducted its audits after bishops refused to hand over details of specific abuse cases to HSE auditors.
Logan said she would insist that the HSE explain why it had accepted the Church’s refusal to provide the information - which she aid undermined child protection laws.
However, lawyers for the HSE have written to Logan in recent days, advising her that she may have gone beyond her remit as ombudsman.
The HSE claimed that, if it cooperated with Logan’s probe, it would prejudice the investigation being carried out under High Court Judge Yvonne Murphy into the handling of abuse complaints at the Diocese of Cloyne in Cork.
Logan had given the HSE 21 days to explain why it accepted the refusal from the Bishop of Cloyne, John Magee, among others, to supply the information.
The HSE has told Logan that it may not be able to supply the information she wants because of the potential exposure to lawsuits over the handling of so-called ‘soft information’ on alleged abusers.
The HSE asked Logan whether her office was willing to guarantee to pay any legal costs and cover all civil liability if it was sued for handing confidential information to her office.
A spokesman for the ombudsman declined to comment while the investigation was being conducted.
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(Source: SBP)