Woods and Church stand by redress deal

THE man who negotiated the controversial compensation deal for abuse victims said he stands by the agreement, as senior Church figures stand firm against plans to increase the amount of money it has to pay out.

Former education minister Michael Woods signed the deal with the Catholic Church in 2002, which capped its liability for child abuse compensation at€127 million.

There have been calls for the deal to be renegotiated in light of the shocking findings of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse report published earlier this week. The compensation bill is now running at €1.2 billion.