Just one of the properties transferred from religious ownership to the state under the controversial 2002 indemnity deal for religious orders has been sold to raise cash to contribute to redress for child abuse victims.A house in Celbridge, Co Kildare, was handed over to the Health Service Executive (HSE) and subsequently sold for €280,000.
The orders have given, or are in the process of transferring, 63 properties to the state or to charities as part of the €128million deal for victim compensation.
While the state and the religious have agreed that the properties have a value of €66 million, many are schools and health facilities that the state had already been funding.
Many religious orders have sold off property worth millions of euro in recent years and some properties were even bought by the state to build new schools.
In some cases, for example in Terenure in Dublin, religious orders have transferred schools to the state as part of the deal, and then sold adjacent land for development.
Under the deal, the religious orders are contributing €52 million in cash and €10million in services.
However, the cash contribution will barely cover the orders’ legal costs of €41 million, which the state is paying.
As the cash value of many of the properties is questionable, the state will bear almost the entire burden of the estimated €1.3billion compensation.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen will this week meet Cori, the umbrella group for the religious orders, to discuss a further contribution from the orders.
However, it is unclear whether this will be in property or cash, and whether it will go towards new compensation for victims or to reduce the state’s bill. Political sources say that the Taoiseach will await proposals from the religious, but it is not a ‘‘negotiation situation’’.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Source (SBP)
SV (3)