What is most shocking about this indemnity deal fiasco is not the incompetence of Michael McDowell and Michael Woods, writes Vincent Browne.
Not even that of the Government as a whole, but the calculated cynicism and obstructiveness of the religious congregations involved in the deal. These were the institutions primarily responsible for the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of hundreds of children entrusted to their care, and yet, throughout the indemnity negotiations, they appeared mean, heartless and legalistic, never acknowledging their grievous culpability for what happened or genuine regret for harm they caused.
Throughout the negotiations, they argued that only a tiny proportion of the cases would succeed in the courts; they said 90 per cent of the cases would fail. Their point seemed not that 90 per cent of the claims were invalid but that if the cases were contested in the courts, the victims would be unable to recover damages because of the passage of time since the abuse occurred and other legal technicalities.
Insofar as it is possible to glean what was going on between the congregations and the State in the negotiations that went on in 2001 and 2002, from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, at no stage did they acknowledge they had a moral duty to make substantial redress to those they had abused.
In addition, it is evident that they sought to structure the deal in a way that falsely conveyed an impression of generosity on their part and in that they were eventually successful.
It was the Government which decided unilaterally that it would compensate the victims after a "soft" validation process. The mistake of dragging victims through the courts that was threatened in the hepatitis C debacle was not to be repeated. But once the Government showed its generous intention, its hand was weakened in negotiations. All the more so when the State made it clear it would pay the full compensation and effectively ruled out the option of subsequently pursuing the congregations for their share. (In fact, the State had little option if it was not to do precisely what it wished to avoid - drag the victims through the courts.)
The congregations wanted to be associated with the generous and compassionate redress scheme, while privately remaining uncompassionate and far from generous. Their initial offer, that of June 2001, was derisory. At the time, the anticipated figure that the redress scheme would pay out was €508 million. The religious orders offered to contribute less than one tenth of the amount but to dress up their contribution in the pretence that they were contributing over twice what they were willing to pay.
They proposed their contribution should be cash payments of €25 million paid over five years, an educational trust of €12.7 million and property worth €12.7 million. This came to a total of €50.4 million. But they proposed that property to the value of €51 million that had been previously promised to the State or to NGOs be taken into account.
They also wanted to be given a credit of €6.7 million for counselling and other "support" services, some of which had already been spent and the remainder, one assumes, which they were going to spend anyway. This would have put a good gloss on the figures - €108 million, in contrast to the actual offer of €50 million.
At that stage, the State negotiators considered past consideration (i.e. properties that had already been promised) of "no value".
Eventually what was agreed was that the initial offer of €25 million in cash plus €12.7 million towards an education trust, be replaced with a cash contribution of €41.14 million - an increase of some €3 million. And there was to be a transfer of real property to the State of €36.54 million, an increase of €23.84 million.
Then there is the gloss, credit for previous transfers of property to the State and voluntary organisations of €40.32 million and a €10 million credit for counselling.
At best the religious orders will end up paying €77.68 million but, in reality it seems now likely that they will get away with far less than that, maybe just the cash contribution of €41.14 million. This is because of what may turn out to be a massive legal blunder on the part of the State, a blunder for which Michael McDowell would bear responsibility.
But let's assume that they end up paying the full €77.68 million. This corresponds to 15 per cent of the cost of the scheme as stated at the time the deal was done and just 8 per cent of the cost of the redress scheme as calculated by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The congregations involved were: the Sisters of Mercy; the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul; the Christian Brothers; the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd; the Presentation Brothers; the Rosminians; the Oblates of the Immaculate Conception; the Hospitaller Order of St John of God; the Sisters of Charity; the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge; the Sisters of St Clare; the Institute of St Louis; the Presentation Sisters; the De La Salle Christian Brothers; the Dominican Friars' Order of Preachers; the Daughters of the Heart of Mary; the Brothers of Charity and the Sisters of Nazareth.