Religious got good deal in abuse payout

RELIGIOUS orders negotiators admitted yesterday they got a good deal when the Government capped their contribution to the compensation scheme for victims of institutional abuse at just €127 million.

The final cost of the scheme could reach €1 billion with the taxpayer footing the overwhelming majority of the bill.

However, representatives of the Conference of Religious in Ireland were unable to shed any light on exactly why the Government caved in on its demands that the religious orders go 50:50 on the compensation payments and also granted a number of other concessions. The number of claims being dealt with by the Residential Institutions Redress Board has now hit 3,900 - twice the number originally anticipated by the State.