Religious congregations and the State must resolve payment issue. What is to be done? The 18 religious congregations which managed
residential institutions where children were abused into the 1970s
refuse to pay a half of costs in resulting compensation. Successive
Governments have held such costs should be shared 50:50, with support
across the Dáil.
The final bill is expected to be around €1.5 billion,
involving €1.25 billion compensation paid by the Redress Board to more
than 15,000 survivors. Contributions offered by the congregations to
date, under the 2002 Indemnity Agreement and subsequent to the 2009 Ryan Report, amount to €480 million. The shortfall on the 50 per cent target is €245 million.
