IRELAND
Irish Independent
John Cooney
Religious Affairs Correspondent
MORE than 100 Catholic priests in the Dublin diocese have been accused or suspected of raping or sexually abusing 390 child victims since 1940.
To date the country's biggest diocese has paid out €5.8m in settlements and fees to lawyers in sexual assault cases against children.
One hundred and five civil cases have been brought against 32 clerics, with settlements being reached in 65 of these cases, resulting in payouts of €4.1m, plus a further €1.7m in legal costs to both sides.
Just one in five victims or alleged victims have received financial compensation.
Some cases have proved to be unfounded, while others have turned out to be among the worst crimes against children.
As reported exclusively last month in the Irish Independent, these figures include new allegations and information which have been brought to the attention of the diocese as a result of the internal review, the publication of the Ferns Report and ongoing work by the diocese's Child Protection Service.