Battle between State and orders is over a decade long

THE controversy over how much the religious orders should contribute to the cost of compensating child abuse victims has been running for more than a decade.

The then government agreed a deal just before the 2002 General Election to indemnify 18 religious orders against legal action in return for €128m in cash and property.

The religious orders agreed to make a further contribution after the publication of the Ryan Report in 2009, which revealed the true horror of the abuse in industrial schools.

But so far, their total contribution only amounts to around €476m -- far less than the overall bill of €1.3bn.

The Government wants the religious orders to provide another €200m so that the costs of redress can be shared 50:50.

 

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