IRELAND
Irish Independent
By Katherine Donnelly
Saturday April 07 2012
EDUCATION Minister Ruairi Quinn yesterday admitted publicly for the first time that religious orders don’t have the cash or assets to pay their share of the compensation bill for abuse.
And he said he had no intention of bankrupting the orders — which leaves him facing a massive battle to recover their half of a €1.5bn bill.
The taxpayer is already picking up €750m of the expected final cost but now faces having to pay far more.
In the place of previous offers, Mr Quinn now wants the orders to hand over the deeds of schools and medical facilities to finally settle the deal on compensating victims of abuse in residential institutions.
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