Saturday, January 14, 2012

Religious orders still owe €500m to victims

Religious congregations still owe the State more than €500m in compensation for the thousands of children abused while living in their care.

The contribution was to come in a mix of cash and property.

The only additional yield to the state in 2011 was a cash contribution of €450,000 and an extra €3.5m of property.

In some cases the property is not acceptable or is subject to legal constraints.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, who took a strong stance on the matter while he was in opposition, has had little success in speeding things up.

Last night he said he was "committed to work with all concerned to progress".

The congregations' half share of the €1.36bn cost of settling with about 14,000 victims of residential institution abuse amounts to €680m.

To date they have offered €477m and only about €127m has been handed over. 

On top of what they have offered, the Government is also seeking a further €203m to bring the figure to €680m.