State may ask Church for cash payment of €32m

THE Catholic Church may be asked to make a cash payment of €32 million to the Government because it has so far failed to hand over property as agreed under the redress scheme to compensate victims of clerical sex abuse.

The overall compensation package for abuse victims will cost €1.1 billion which is paid out by the Residential Institutions Redress Board set up six years ago.

Under a controversial deal agreed back in 2002 the liability of religious orders is limited to €128m while the rest of the compensation is to be paid by taxpayers.