Speaking in Philadelphia, Mr Kenny said the Catholic Church had not lived up to expectations in terms of compensation.

He said the Church must "measure up in so far as accepting responsibility or agreements as far as restitution is concerned and get on with it".

Asked whether the Pope should intervene in order to put pressure on religious orders to pay more in compensation, Mr Kenny replied: "I would expect that the congregations and the Church would reflect on the seriousness of this and measure up to their requirements.

"I referred a number of matters to the Pope when I met with him last year and I would expect that the Vatican would respond to those."

Mr Kenny said that, given the sensitivities involved, the State wanted "to get this as right as we can" for the victims and the Church needed to "reflect on the years ahead".

Mr Kenny made his remarks just hours after Health Minister Simon Harris launched a stinging attack on the Church.

As the fallout from the Tuam baby scandal continues, Mr Harris warned that the Government would consider legal action against the Church to ensure it paid more of the €1.5bn compensation bill.

To date, orders have paid just 13pc of the bill.

Mr Harris said it was "indefensible" that Church leaders had failed to put pressure on religious orders to pay their share. He also called on the Vatican to intervene, adding that there was an agreement that the State and the Church would share the bill equally.

"I have heard a lot of religious leaders make comments in recent days about Tuam and some of them welcome. It is indefensible and extraordinarily disappointing that not one of those religious leaders in this country or abroad has called on the institutions to pay their contribution," Mr Harris told RTÉ's 'The Week in Politics'.

"The Church has not stepped up to the plate. Religious leaders in this country, I would like the next time they make a homily and contribute to public debate, they would call on all of the religious institutions to pay up and pay now and that call should go all the way to the Vatican as well.

"The Pope and religious leaders in this country need to actually intervene and say to [religious] institutions 'pay over and pay up'. It is not acceptable the current situation."

Meanwhile, in a homily in Dublin's Pro-Cathedral to mark the second Sunday of Lent, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the revelations surrounding the treatment of women and their children in Mother and Baby Homes could be "wallpapered" over.