Victims of a notorious paedophile priest have been barred from taking further legal action against the Catholic Church because of an earlier settlement.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin tonight refused to demand his superior's resignation over revelations he failed to alert police about one of Ireland's most notorious paedophile priests.

The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, is today facing continuing calls to resign after it emerged he gathered evidence in an internal church probe into serial sex offender Father Brendan Smyth.