State rowed back on abuse deal

THE Government capitulated to pressure from religious congregations by allowing them to escape with a fraction of the contribution it originally sought in the compensation scheme for abuse victims.

Department of Education documents, released to the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Government officials allowed the congregations contribute just 90m in cash compared to the original demand for 190m.

The religious congregations also threatened to pull out of the deal over suspicions that the Government was deliberately leaking details of the talks to the media.