The Minister for Justice has today confirmed he has received a report from the Commission of Investigation Dublin Archdiocese and has passed it on to Attorney-General Paul Gallagher.
In a statement this afternoon, Dermot Ahern he was anxious that the matters dealt with in the report "are put into the public domain as quickly as possible".
However, he said: "Equally, I am concerned that nothing should be done which would harm the prospects of the perpetrators of these horrific acts of depravity against children being brought to the justice they deserve.
"The law under which the commission was established provides that, if the Minister considers that the publication of a report from a commission might prejudice any criminal proceedings that are pending or in progress, the Minister must apply to the High Court for directions concerning publication of the report," his statement said.
Mr Ahern said he had referred the report to the Attorney General for advice on how best to proceed.
“If there’s any issue we feel would compromise proceedings, I don’t have any say on it,” the Minister said. “If we felt there was something prejudicial we would have to refer it to the High Court and I would only do that on the basis of the Attorney General’s advice.”
The Minister said that he is determined that this matter will be dealt with "as expeditiously as possible". A copy of the report is also being forwarded to Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Barry Andrews.
Mr Ahern thanked Judge Yvonne Murphy, chairwoman of the commission, and her staff for their work.
Set up in March 2006, the commission has investigated how child sex abuse allegations against a representative sample of 46 priests was handled by 19 bishops in Dublin between January 1st, 1975, and April 30th, 2004.
The focus of the report is on a power culture centred on the bishops and how this influenced their handling of allegations.