Gardaí have sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions following further sexual abuse complaints against a number of Brothers of Charity by former residents of the order's home at Lota in Glanmire outside Cork city.
According to a Garda source, complaints and allegations of sexual abuse made by 14 former residents have been forwarded to the DPP in respect of a number of retired Brothers who worked at the home between the 1950s and 1970s.
Gardaí have interviewed three surviving Brothers about the allegations and have travelled to Britain to meet at least one of them. It is understood the Brothers of Charity have co-operated fully with the Garda inquiry.
The latest file is the fourth investigation into allegations of child abuse at Lota and is the result of 18 months of inquiries by gardaí.
The first investigation was undertaken in 1995 and, together with subsequent investigations, resulted in a number of prosecutions being taken against two retired Brothers who both pleaded guilty to the offences and received jail terms at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
According to a Garda source, gardaí over the course of the four investigations have received over 100 complaints of sexual abuse from former residents of Lota, which was set up in 1938 by the Brothers of Charity as a residential home for boys with learning difficulties.
Gardaí have also conducted separate investigations into allegations of sexual abuse by retired members of the Brothers of Charity at the order's centres at Renmore in Galway and Belmont in Waterford which have led to two retired members of the order receiving prison terms.
While the latest Lota investigation was designed to draw together all remaining complaints of abuse against members of the order, one Garda source said he believed the publication of the Ferns report may lead to further complaints.
