Negotiations with Church totally inept

THE Government deserves to be roundly condemned for its inept handling of negotiations with the Catholic Church on the compensation package for thousands of victims of physical and sexual child abuse at the hands of priests, brothers and nuns in 18 religious orders.

By any international standard, the State’s lack of legal representation at crucial meetings is a damning indictment of the approach adopted by former Education Minister Michael Woods.

Blame must also be apportioned to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for failing to insist on more realistic contributions from the Church. He finds himself in a quagmire of conflicting statements from senior Government figures.