Clerical abuse victim 'hopeful'

Mrs Marie Collins, a victim of clerical abuse when a child, said last night she was "very hopeful where child protection in the Dublin archdiocese is concerned".

She was speaking after a meeting she and fellow clerical abuse victim Mr Ken Reilly had with the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin. Both met Dr Martin informally last year. Mrs Collins said she found the archbishop had "a really good grasp of the situation".

She also paid tribute to Cardinal Connell who "moved things along" when "not everyone in administration in the diocese was as keen to have us involved". A joint statement, issued by the archdiocese after yesterday's meeting, said all parties were happy "that good progress has been made"