Religious Orders agree new compensation deal for abuse victims

Religious orders will pay substantial funds into a dedicated trust in a belated attempt to make amends to thousands of victims of abusive priests and nuns.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen today warned leaders of the 18 congregations at the centre of the devastating Ryan inquiry they have a moral responsibility, backed by Dáil Eireann, to do more.

After the meeting at Government Buildings, Mr Cowen revealed the orders have agreed to live up to commitments he made to survivors of clerical abuse and make further contributions.

A detailed audit of the orders’ assets will be drawn up before the trust is in place to take in money and possibly assets for compensation. It is not clear how much they may be asked to hand over although demands have been made for a 50-50 church-state approach.

“I want to convey to you directly the view of the Government that further substantial contributions are required by way of reparation,” said Mr Cowen.

Mr Cowen met the 18 orders along with ministers Dermot Ahern, Mary Harney, Batt O’Keeffe and Barry Andrews following last night’s three-hour meeting with victims’ groups.

He warned the orders that the Ryan report, which catalogued decades of sexual, physical and emotional torture of youngsters in church and state care, had also severely criticised the most recent responses to the inquiry.

“While I recognise that you in leadership positions, like us in Government, are now faced with the consequences of actions and failings of those who have gone before you over earlier generations, some of the severest conclusions of the Commission regarding religious congregations relate to recent attitudes and behaviour,” Mr Cowen said.

“The systemic nature of the findings, and the sheer scale of the suffering endured by children and the grievous abuse of many of them while in the care of organisations represented here mean that there is a moral responsibility to be faced.”

After leaving the talks Fr Joe O’Reilly, from the Rosminian Order, said the congregations accepted criticisms levelled against them.

“The Taoiseach did express some criticism of our response to Ryan and our response in other situations and we have had to take the criticism on board and we accept what he said,” Fr O’Reilly said.

The congregations will meet the Taoiseach again in two weeks as the audit into assets and finances gets under way.

In a brief statement the 18 congregations said: “Each congregation is fully committed to identifying its resources, both financial and other, within a transparent process, with a view to delivering upon commitments.”

The existing compensation deal was agreed in private and at short notice in 2002 by then Education Minister Michael Woods and the orders. It left the state to foot 90% of the bill for redress claims with the orders handing over cash and assets worth €127m.

However, Mr Cowen said the new arrangement would be open to public scrutiny.

“The contributions need to be capable of being assessed by the public for their significance by reference to the full resources available to the Congregations and in a context of the costs of well over a billion euro being incurred by the State,” the Taoiseach said.

“This call upon the congregations has been made also by Dail Éireann in a display of unanimity through a motion passed without a vote last week.

“I need hardly emphasise the moral force of such a call from the representatives of the people.”

Mr Cowen further warned the orders that their response may influence how the Irish people judge them and profoundly effect survivors of abuse.

“Accordingly, the response to the Government and the public as a whole should be clear and unequivocal,” the Taoiseach added.