The Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, has said the indemnity deal concluded by the last government with 18 religious congregations who ran residential institutions where children were abused was "one of the most reckless and shocking ever negotiated by any Irish government".
Under the terms of the deal, approval of which was among the last decisions of the previous government, the congregations were granted indemnity by the State in the event of any future actions by abuse victims in return for a €128 million contribution to a compensation fund.
According to reports yesterday, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Mr John Purcell, will confirm in his annual report on Tuesday that overall costs to the State of compensating victims may be near €1 billion.
In a statement Mr Rabbitte said that, following publication of Mr Purcell's report, Labour would be insisting on a full debate on the deal and how it was handled.
"The then minister for education, Mr Woods, the Taoiseach, and the the attorney general [Mr Michael McDowell] concluded an extraordinarily negligent and profligate deal" with the religious.
The C&AG's report would "also establish that the assurances given by the Taoiseach in the Dáil that the taxpayer was not exposed to undue risk by this deal were worthless".
It was "clear that the indemnity deal was drafted by Arthur Cox solicitors for the religious congregations, and not in the attorney general's office", he said, and pointed out it was never debated in the Dáil.
Dr Woods "was unaccompanied by government law officers at critical negotiating meetings", and the "Department of Finance had recommended a 50-50 apportionment of liability between church and State, but this recommendation was ignored".
He said the then attorney general, Mr McDowell, "was not involved in the finalisation of the deed of indemnity".
He believed changes to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, following the resignation of Ms Justice Laffoy, may cost even more than Mr Purcell feared. More survivors may go to the High Court, and the costs, including those of the religious orders, and damages would all be borne by the State.
He said he had "alone of the party leaders" repeatedly raised the issue in the Daíl on February 4th, 5th, 11th and 12th.
One of the few politicians to recognise the import of the deal at the time it was signed last year was the Labour TD, Ms Róisín Shortall. During the Dáil adjournment debate on June 20th, 2002, she said: "The deal will result in a huge bill for taxpayers, a bill that could eventually reach €1 billion."
In a written reply to her that day, the government said it was "misleading" to say the deal with the religious had implications for the taxpayer.
