Criticism of Church abuse deal vindicated - Labour

Labour has claimed a upcoming report by the Comptroller and Auditor General has vindicated its criticisms of the Government's handling of compensation for victims of clerical child abuse.

The leader of the Labour Party, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said the report will vindicate the position he has held for a year, namely that the Government "concluded an extraordinarily negligent and profligate deal".

He added: "It will also establish that the assurances given by the Taoiseach in the Dáil that the taxpayer was not exposed to undue risk by this deal were worthless."

The annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which audits State spending, is understood to contain accusations the Government failed to accurately estimate the cost of compensation for victims of abuse by religious orders when it reached a deal with the Catholic Church.

The report is set to be published next Tuesday and is expected to contain a damning criticism of the fact the Government failed to foresee the additional costs and impose a limit on the amount of money it would end up paying out, leaving taxpayers liable for the shortfall.

An agreement was reached in June last year between the Catholic Church and the-then Minister of Education, Dr Woods. Under the deal, 18 Catholic religious orders pledged to contribute €128 million to the Government fund for the victims of physical and sexual abuse in institutions. The full amount of this deal is yet to be paid by the Church.

The Government initially estimated the cost of the compensation claims would be around €500 million. The Government agreed to meet the balance of what has to be paid out. The Minister of Education, Mr Dempsey, indicated earlier this month the figure may be less than originally anticipated.

However, with over 1,700 abuse cases before the inquiry, the Comptroller and Auditor General is understood to suggest the compensation bill is likely to rise to at least €1 billion.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's office was unwilling to confirm or deny details of the report, which appeared in this morning's Irish Independent, when contacted by ireland.comtoday.

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy resigned at the beginning of this month as chairperson of the commission into child abuse, claiming the Government was hindering her work. She said the delay in talks between Church and State over securing the compensation was causing undue stress on her inquiry.