MINISTER FOR Education Ruairí Quinn has said he is “not confident” the State will be able to recoup from the Catholic Church half the cost of the € 1.36 billion compensation bill to settle clerical child sex abuse claims.
The Ryan report, published in May 2009, recommended that the 18 religious congregations concerned pay half the cost and they agreed.
An announcement is expected this morning from Mr Quinn in response to unpublished proposals from religious congregations in relation to meeting the cost of the bill. The Department of Education said last April it was to ask the congregations to hand over title to properties, including schools, worth up to € 200 million, to make up the shortfall.
It would help bring the total contribution by the congregations named in the Ryan report to redress costs for survivors of institutions they ran, nearer to what was recommended they pay. To date those costs to the State have come to €1.36 billion.
The Ryan report, published in May 2009, followed an investigation by the Ryan commission into the abuse of children held in residential institutions run by the 18 congregations.
Following its publication the congregations met the then government and subsequently produced details of their finances.These were verified by an independent committee set up under Frank Daly, formerly of the Revenue Commissioners.
However, it emerged that only 16 of the congregations felt in a position to make any further financial contribution to redress costs in addition to the €128 million the 18 had agreed to pay over to the State in 2002 as part of a controversial indemnity deal.
The Rosminian and Good Shepherd congregations said they had nothing more to contribute.
The total the congregations have agreed to pay came to over €476 million.
As this is € 200 million short of the half share of what they agreed to pay over, proposals were sought from them as to how they might meet the shortfall.
Last April, the Department of Education confirmed that it was to ask the congregations to hand over title to property worth up to €200 million.
This morning’s planned announcement by Mr Quinn follows Cabinet discussions surrounding the Ryan report in recent weeks.
Yesterday he said he was “not confident” the State will be able to recoup from the church half the cost of the € 1.36 billion compensation bill to settle clerical child sex abuse claims. He would soon re-enter formal negotiations with the congregations to review how they can meet the target of paying half the liability.
“Im not confident because I simply don’t know what the situation is at the present time and I’m not in a situation to make any forecast as to what possible contribution there might be,” he said.
“It has been my intention to resume negotiations as soon as possible,” said Mr Quinn.