Dublin Archdiocese agrees record sex abuse settlement

The Archdiocese of Dublin has reportedly reached a settlement with a victim of clerical sex abuse worth more than €300,000, the largest such settlement in the history of the State.

Confirmation of the pay-out will be read into the record at the High Court later this morning.

The settlement follows a civil action taken after Dublin priest Fr Thomas Naughten was jailed for three years for abusing a boy in his Donnycarney parish.

Mervyn Rundle was just nine years old when the abuse began in 1985.

When the matter was reported to church authorities, Fr Naughten was simply moved to another parish.

The victim initiated civil proceedings in 1995 and, following a protracted legal battle, the two sides have now reportedly agreed a settlement worth between €300,000 and €400,000.

The High Court will hear details of the settlement today as well as an apology from Cardinal Desmond Connell over his diocese's handling of the abuse complaints.