Five Dublin priests accused of child abuse in past year

Five priests in the Dublin Archdiocese have been the subject of child abuse allegations since last year.

That brings to 106 the number of priests accused of child abuse in Dublin since 1940.

Of the five priests newly accused of abuse, three are dead and two are retired.

There are currently 60 civil actions before the courts against priests or former priests in Dublin.

The Archdiocese says while the number of priests who are subject to complaints has risen, the rate of complaint has declined steadily over the past two years.

In the period of 2010-2011, there were around 100 complaints a year, compared to less than 40 in each of the last two years.