The failure of Bishop John Magee’s diocese to co-operate was raised at a meeting between the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) chief executive Ian Elliott and Health Service Executive (HSE) chiefs.

Mr Elliott said he “had not been afforded full cooperation from the diocese and had not received all the documentation that he requested” from Cloyne.

The child protection board chief raised his concerns with the HSE’s assistant national director Pat Healy and a child care manager.

The HSE report on child protection measures in Cloyne released yesterday said: “Mr Elliott stated that he was concerned that there may be other complaints made against priests in the diocese of which we were not aware.”

The HSE review of Mr Elliott’s concerns adds that he later outlined his grievances in an email. The watchdog chief stated he had gone on to immediately make arrangements to visit Cloyne and speak with Bishop Magee personally to resolve the situation. Access to the complete file was not forthcoming from the diocese, he warned the HSE.

Mr Elliott stated his “deep concerns” regarding the diocese. The focus of the child protection board was the safety of children and a requirement was the full and immediate reporting of allegations, HSE officials were told.

Following the concerns raised by Mr Elliott, the NBSC submitted a report to the Department of Health into the management in the Diocese of Cloyne of two cases relating to child protection.

The damning report, which has resulted in calls for the resignation of Bishop Magee, made a number of recommendations including Cloyne immediately adopting a safeguarding policy for children with certain standards, the sharing of all information on alleged abusers as well as a review of possible other abuse cases identified within the diocese.

In a statement last night, Bishop Magee reiterated his insistence that he was taking “full responsibility” for the implementation of all recommendations made in the NBSC report.