Church properties offered for compo not accepted

NONE of the properties offered by the Church by way of compensation for victims of clerical abuse in residential institutions have been accepted by the State.

The indemnity for religious congregations agreed between the State and the Congregation of Religious Institutions (CORI) as part of the compensation scheme for victims of abuse cannot be reviewed.

The implementation of the scheme, which is operated by a specially established body, the Religious Institutions Redress Board, arose during question time in the Dáil.

Minister for Education and Science Noel Dempsey was asked by Labour leader Pat Rabbitte to give a progress report.

Under the terms of the agreement, signed on June 5, 2002, the State had a period of nine months to consider the properties offered by the religious congregations.

“On March 5, 2003, officials at the Residential Institutions Redress Unit of my department requested a further period of two months in order to give further consideration to a number of the properties on offer,” Mr Dempsey replied.

“Following further examination of the properties on offer, officials at my department wrote to CORI’s legal representatives and outlined a number of properties which the State was prepared to accept a fee simple interest in.

“However, a number of other properties were rejected on the basis that no benefit to the State could be identified by acquiring a title,” Mr Dempsey said.

In the event of the State rejecting a property, the religious congregation must then come up with an alternative property or cash sum equivalent, under the terms of the agreement.

CORI can submit a schedule of alternative properties in place of the properties declined by the State, Mr Dempsey said.

A nine-month period of consideration for these properties will then commence.

“As negotiations are ongoing and the issue is commercially sensitive, I do not intend giving any details of the property aspect of the agreement at this stage,” Mr Dempsey said.

“There is no time limit of nine months on the schedule entitled ‘Properties Already Transferred’. Officials from my department have sought additional information from CORI to ensure that each of these properties qualify under the criteria laid down in the indemnity agreement regarding valuation, title and restriction on transfer for a 25-year period.

“To date none of the properties on this list have been accepted,” Mr Dempsey said.