Most claims against the Christian Brothers are settled within a year “without the stress of a court appearance”, the congregation has said.
The organisation said that, “contrary to recent commentary”, it remains resolutely focused on settling legal claims in a timely manner “without the stress and delays of litigation”.
It said protracted litigation has “very little, if any, benefit” to claimants, with similar compensation to what would have been achieved via an earlier settlement.
The Catholic congregation has adopted a controversial legal strategy in response to a claim brought by a man who alleges he suffered sexual abuse inflicted by former brother Liam Coughlan when attending the CBS school on Stephen Street, Kilkenny, in the 1970s.
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The Christian Brothers is an unincorporated body so a litigant must sue all of its relevant members unless it nominates a representative. The congregation refused to select a nominee, which led to the High Court last week permitting the plaintiff to publish the names of 341 former Christian Brothers in a national newspaper to alert them they would be joined as defendants.
The men on the list, who were all Christian Brothers between September 1974 and December 1979, are not alleged to have anything to do with the sexual assault.
Coughlan (90) was jailed in 2023 for sexually assaulting the man and 23 other former pupils in the 1970s. More recently, he was convicted of the sexual assault of nine former pupils of the CBS primary school on Patrick Street, Portarlington, Co Offaly, in the 1980s, following a trial by jury at Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Christian Brothers said it encourages abuse survivors to make contact and has provided more than €40 million, including legal fees, to upwards of 200 claimants.
“Our typical approach is to acknowledge a claim with an offer of mediation ... The vast majority of claimants and their legal representatives are opting for non-adversarial resolution of claims,” it said.
The organisation claimed legal fees in protracted litigation are typically four times higher than the compensation received by claimants. However, some are significantly higher, with one recent case involving legal fees 19 times higher than the payout to the alleged victim, it said.
“Regrettably protracted litigation diverts and depletes resources available for future claims and serves only to enrich the legal firms focusing on protracted litigation.”
Philip Treacy, of Coleman Legal, which is representing the claimant, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland earlier this week that the decision to place an advertisement in a national newspaper as “unfortunately a necessary step”.
He called on the Government to address what he described as a legal loophole that permitted the congregation to refuse to nominate a representative. He said he believes this type of strategy will only be prevented if politicians amend the law.
