Comment: Mother and baby home redress must not compound 2002 mistakes 

The 2002 indemnity deal for religious orders has cost the State more than €1.5bn before the publication of the mother and baby homes report

Taoiseach Micheál Martin called the 2002 indemnity deal for religious orders a mistake in an RTÉ documentary earlier this year.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin is an understated man, but when he called the 2002 indemnity deal for religious orders a mistake in an RTÉ documentary earlier this year, he made more than an understatement.

The Taoiseach was in the Cabinet that passed the agreement brought forward by then education minister Dr Michael Woods. The deal agreed saw 18 religious congregations pay a total of €128m in a combination of cash and property in exchange for a State indemnity against all future actions by victims and survivors.