BishopAccountability.org
	No New Deal on Abuse Money Herald May 22, 2009 http://www.herald.ie/national-news/no-new-deal-on-abuse-money-1747824.html There is "no legal way" that the 2002 deal granting religious orders indemnity against future child-abuse claims can be renegotiated, Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe said. Opposition parties joined calls for a review of the ˆ128 deal following the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, published on Wednesday. The report found endemic abuse in state institutions, with children living in “daily terror” of physical violence. The Cabinet will discuss the commission’s recommendations next week. Under the 2002 indemnity agreement between the State and the congregations, the religious orders were awarded indemnity against all future claims if they paid ˆ128m in cash and property. However, the compensation bill, the rest of which must be paid by the taxpayer, is likely to be well over ˆ1bn. But Mr O’Keeffe said: “There is no legal way that I can coerce the Church to renegotiate this particular deal.” Asked if the controversial deal would be reviewed, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said the Government would “take legal advice on that matter, but it appears that that may not be possible”.Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes said a review of the entire deal was necessary “if legally possible”. “When the deal was done in 2002, the total liability was put at somewhere in excess of ˆ300m. Now, the total liability that we know about is ˆ1.2bn.” He added that there were still “substantial question marks” over the 2002 deal. Meanwhile, counselling services throughout the country have reported a significant rise in calls from people seeking help following the publication of the child abuse report.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.