CATHOLIC religious orders Wednesday refused to say whether they would
pay their 50pc share of the redress costs for clerical sexual abuse.
Education
Minister Ruairi Quinn yesterday reiterated that he wanted congregations
to hand over properties to the State to make up for the €375m
compensation shortfall from the orders.
The Ryan Report -- which
probed the horrific abuse of children in institutions run by 18
religious orders -- recommended that the orders pay half of the redress
bill, which amounts to some €680m.
But so far just two orders --
the Presentation Brothers and the Sisters of St Clare -- have committed
to paying their 50pc share of the costs.
None of the orders
contacted undertook to pay the
remaining share of the redress costs in advance of crunch talks with the
Department of Education.
In one case, the Dominican Order said it believed it had offered a sufficient sum already.
The order gave a total of €6.5m over three periods last year following the sell-off of some assets.
"We
believe that (our) contribution to the department was an appropriate
sum in the circumstances and meets the criteria set down by the
minister," a spokesman said.
On Tuesday, the Department of Education wrote to the orders seeking meetings to discuss the matter.