Representatives of religious orders have agreed to appear before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to give evidence about the controversial child abuse compensation indemnity deal with the State.
In what is being seen as a major boost to the PAC inquiry, which is examining the deal that could cost the State up to €1 billion, the orders have agreed to give evidence at a public hearing of the committee on July 8th.
The PAC had been involved in ongoing negotiations with the orders since last October to get them to appear before the committee. It is unclear whether the orders' representatives have received any assurances about the nature of the questioning.
It is expected that evidence will focus on negotiations between the orders' representatives and the Government in the run-up to the deal in 2002. The PAC began inquiries after a report last year by the Comptroller and Auditor General revealed that the potential cost to the State was up to €1 billion, although the orders' contribution was just €128 million.
The C&AG's report also found that the then Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, had serious concerns about the deal, which provided a full indemnity to 18 religious orders against compensation claims from former residents at institutions they ran.
His office was excluded from crucial negotiations in late November 2001 and early January 2002, at which the deal was agreed to in principle by the then minister for education, Dr Michael Woods, and representatives of the orders.
The committee has already heard evidence from officials from the Departments of Education and Finance about the deal. The Attorney General's office has refused to attend the hearings, claiming the advice the office provided the Government is privileged and confidential.
The appearance of the religious orders could prove embarrassing for the Government and the Department of Education, as one of the senior negotiators on behalf of the church, Sister Helena O'Donoghue, has already contradicted aspects of evidence provided by senior officials from the Department of Education.
In March, the secretary general of the Department of Education, Mr John Dennehy, told the committee that his department had learned that the religious orders received a payment of €6 million from their insurers as part of a settlement deal in relation to potential abuse claims.