The news that the religious orders have only handed over a fraction of the agreed amount of compensation for abuse committed by their members, sadly comes as no surprise. Ever since the first deal in 2002 between the state and religious orders, which capped the religious orders' liability at just €128m, the orders have been tardy in meeting their obligations.
In hindsight, with the total cost of compensating institutional abuse victims having soared to €1.5bn, the 2002 deal was excessively generous to the religious orders.
In 2009, as the full cost of the abuse scandal began to emerge, the religious orders agreed to up their contribution to €476m.
This is still less than a third of the likely compensation total, leaving the taxpayer to foot the remaining €1bn or more.
Unfortunately the religious have not kept to their side of what is still a very one-sided bargain.
While €102m of cash and property was handed over by the religious orders under the 2002 deal, only €21.5m of the extra €348m promised in 2009 has been handed over.
This means that the religious orders now owe the state at least €350m.
In fact, the religious orders' actual obligations may be even greater.
This is because the Government is adamant that the cost of compensation for abuse carried out by the members of the religious orders is split 50:50 between the state and the orders.
On the basis of a final bill of €1.5bn this would mean a contribution of €750m from the religious orders, an increase of €274m on the figure agreed in 2009.
This means that the real amount still owed by the religious orders to the state could eventually climb as high as €625m.
That's four times as much as the Government hopes to raise from the household charge this year.
Ever since the Government closed, ostensibly on cost grounds, the Irish embassy to the Vatican last year, Catholic Church sources have made it clear that they want the Irish embassy re-opened and a thawing in the current frosty relations between Ireland and the Holy See.
A good place to start would be for Pope Benedict to use his authority to ensure that the religious orders meet their legal and moral obligations on abuse compensation.
Instead we have the ridiculous case of Redemptorist priest Tony Flannery being investigated by the Vatican's thought police for daring to express slightly liberal theological views.
Unless and until Pope Benedict and those around him get their priorities right, relations between Ireland and the Vatican will remain strained.