More than €780,000 paid to child sex abuse survivors by Dublin Archdiocese in 2022

Some €784,000 in compensation was paid to survivors of child sex abuse (CSA), the Dublin Archdiocese’s annual report for 2022 shows.

The report also shows that income at Dublin’s Catholic parishes continued to drop last year, totalling €29.6 million on December 31st last, down from €31.3 million in 2021.

“A provision is included in the financial statements for the estimated total costs of outstanding claims and for the eventuality of future claims arising for compensation in connection with the alleged clerical abuse of children. The provision at December 31st, 2022 reported a net decrease of €784k to €10,052k in the current year (2021: €10,836k),” it said.

“The Trustees and its external advisers carry out an annual review in order to determine a provision in respect of claims notified and the eventuality of future claims arising. Also included in the provision is a specific provision held relating to St Patricks College, Drumcondra following the transfer of a provision of €1.3m into the Charity (the Archdiocese). This provision is for any potential future CSA cases that they may not be aware of relating to St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.”

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On the overall drop in income last year, the annual report said that: “Mass collections have not returned to pre-pandemic levels” as “even though the restrictions are now lifted, parishes are not seeing the attendances that was there before the pandemic”.

Government guidelines, which prohibited the passing of collection baskets along pews from March 2020 to February 2022, “directly impacted church attendance, which in turn seriously impacted the donations to Mass collections”, it said.

The Archdiocese is separated into two charities, one for its parishes and one for its central administration at Archbishop’s House in Drumcondra. The latter’s income was down five per cent in 2022, to €4.9 million, from €5.1 million in 2021. Most of this income comes from contributions made in the “share collection” at weekend Masses.

In 2022 spending by Dublin’s 189 Catholic parishes (a further eight are run by religious congregations) was €33.3 million, up from €28.1 million in 2021. This included €11.7 million which helped support the income of 390 priests. The latter amount was from €14 million taken up at the first collection during weekend Masses in 2022, down from €14.7 million in 2021.

There continued to be “an annual deficit and not sufficient levels of donations to meet the fixed costs. An example of such fixed costs are the stipends to priests of the Archdiocese, nursing home costs, costs associated with supporting sick and retired priests, financial support for poorer parishes within the Archdiocese of Dublin and the costs of running the diocesan offices that support the parishes,” the report said.

As a result the Archdiocese “has to hold reserves to help support some of the fixed costs listed above in the case of another pandemic or any other potential issue that would affect donations such as bad weather”, it said.

In 2022, the Archdiocese’s fixed asset reserves increased by €25.5 million to €123.4 million, up from €97.8 million in 2021.

“The main reason for this increase in funds is that in October 2022, the fourth tranche in the sales contract with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) closed,” it said.

The deal with the GAA involved sale of “excess land and buildings at Holy Cross College that were surplus to requirements over a four-year period” with the Archdiocese receiving “€28,689 from the sale proceeds in this fourth and final tranche. These sales proceeds are designated by the Trustees in line with the approval from the Holy See and are not available for day-to-day operating expenditure.”

Holy Cross College was the Archdiocese’s “primary fixed asset” and money from its sale “is being converted into cash reserves.” The Trustees have designated these reserves “for future strategic investment.” In addition the Archdiocese has €91.1 million in cash reserves, bringing its total reserves to €218.9 million. The report points out that it is “not accumulating reserves; it is adopting a prudent approach” to ensure it has sufficient reserves to allow “the parishes continue the mission of the Catholic Church into the long-term future”.

It has retained ownership of Archbishop’s House at Drumcondra and the former Mater Dei College building nearby, which is currently leased to Dublin City Council at a nominal rent as housing for 50 homeless families.