C&AG refutes claim he 'guessed' 1bn abuse bill

THE Comptroller and Auditor General yesterday hit back at claims that he had guessed the compensation bill for abuse victims will cost the taxpayer up to 1 billion.

The fallout over the Government's indemnity deal with the religious orders continued as the Tánaiste Mary Harney failed to back up her Progressive Democrats colleague, Justice Minister Michael McDowell. Ms Harney stood over the agreement on compensation for abuse victims, limiting the religious orders' contribution to 127m, exposing the taxpayer to the rest of the bill.

Exacerbating the split within Government ranks, Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy defended the deal by suggesting the State had to shoulder its part of the blame as it had put the victims into the institutions, and did not follow up when abuses became known.