The State Claims Agency (SCA) has paid out €3.6m on behalf of the State to child sex abuse victims concerning 587 separate claims of historical child sex abuse since 2008.

Gardaí knew about the activities of notorious paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth in the early 1970s, an inquiry has heard.

A notorious paedophile priest told a doctor he had sexually abused hundreds of children, an inquiry has heard.

Failings that allowed notorious paedophile priest Brendan Smyth to abuse children for four decades will today be examined by a public inquiry.