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	Row Erupts over Abuse Compensation Payments Irish Post August 8, 2007 http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/story.asp?j=6082&cat=news Ireland — A Row has broken out after it was revealed the body set-up to provide compensation to victims of institutional abuse in Ireland had paid lawyers millions of euro. Some €83.5million has been paid out by the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB) to lawyers representing those abused in State care. Figures from the RIRB reveal that 13 per cent of the €648million signed over to abuse victims has gone to 601 individual legal firms representing 6,494 victims. It is more than double the amount accumulated before the 2005 annual report was released last summer. Director of the One In Four victims' group Colm O'Gorman said the RIRB was supposed to curtail the amount of money leaked to the legal system. He suggested the figure could not be properly scrutinised under the current policy of secrecy employed by the board. Mr O'Gorman said: "We would like to see where this money has gone and be able to see how it has helped people to rebuild their lives. "I sometimes wonder when we look back at the outcomes has it been worth all the money we have spent. It is very hard to know because it is such a secretive process." If current trends continue the total bill for compensating people abused in residential institutions and associated legal fees will rise above €1.1billion. The RIRB said it had completed a comprehensive breakdown of its legal costs in its annual report. The average pay-out to victims of abuse is now €67,750 with more than half the claimants getting between €50,000 and €100,000.
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