Christian Brothers pay first installment of €6.3m owed in redress payments

The €6.3m owed by the Christian Brothers to redress organisation Caranua will be paid in four installments - with the first €1.8m paid today.

The Irish Examiner

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The remainder of the money will be paid in three further monthly installments of €1.5m, €1.5m, and €2m respectively.

Of this total of €6.8m - €6.3m will go directly to the Caranua Fund with €428,910 to be paid over to the National Children’s Hospital.

In July,

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The dire financial situation facing the fund was revealed in more than a year’s worth of correspondence between Caranua and the Department of Education and Skills.

Education minister Joe McHugh welcomed the fact that the first of the four payments had been made.

“I welcome the clear confirmation from the Christian Brothers of its plan to complete its pledge. I particularly welcome the fact that this plan has now been put into operation, with the first tranche of €1.8 million having been transferred this week."

“This confirmation provides both funding and much needed clarity for Caranua to allow it to continue its supports for survivors," he said

In mid-July, the Christian Brothers said the payment was “imminent”, while the department assured Caranua in June that the contribution would be paid “in the coming weeks” and it had received “verbal and written assurances” to this effect.

However, this paper

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The order was using the sale of the land to fund the more than €6m it owes to Caranua. As a result, the order said that “alternative financing solutions” were being examined so the payment can be made in the “near term”.

To the end of July 2019, Caranua had spent some €88.9m on funding supports for survivors and €11.72m on operational costs.

The redress body had been expected to wind down last month after it closed for applications in August of 2018.