Abuse redress bill - Orders must pay half
Added on July 23, 2012Abuse redress bill - Orders must pay half
Monday, July 23, 2012
Religious orders profess to be sorry for the child abuse that took place in their institutions over the decades, but they have been very slow in paying their share of the €1.3m redress bill.
Only one of the 18 orders has accepted in principle that it should pay half of the compensation for which it was responsible.
Of course, the State must share the blame for what happened, and hence it has offered to pay half. Some might argue that this is an undue burden on taxpayers.
The shortfall on the part of the religious bodies is currently €400m. Some religious institutions have handed over land that is of very dubious value in current circumstances.
This should not be allowed to develop into a scam in which the orders fob off property at the notional value of the Celtic Tiger era. If those religious orders are contrite for tolerating and facilitating the vile abuse of defenceless children, they can demonstrate this by contributing meaningfully to the redress.
The State must ensure the orders are held responsible for the abuse by paying at least half the compensation.