Dioceses pay out €9m over sex abuse

AT LEAST €9 million has been paid out to victims of clerical sex abuse, latest figures from Catholic dioceses show.

Over 240 priests have been accused of abuse in the past 40 years but this figure is likely to be higher as all of the dioceses have not provided information when requested.

The largest payouts to date have been from the archdiocese of Dublin which has revealed compensation and legal costs in recent years of €5.5m. A further 62 civil cases are pending while the Church authorities have already paid out in 43 cases.