Department of Education officials expect the final compensation bill arising from the State's compensation scheme for victims of institutional child abuse will fall around €200 million short of official estimates.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has estimated there could be up to 8,900 claimants at a total cost of €828 million.
However, Department officials are expected to tell the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee that latest figures suggest around 7,000 individuals will make claims, at an overall estimated cost of between €605 million and €647 million. Around 20 per cent of this sum will include legal costs. This estimate would be "largely in line" with the Department of Education's original estimate in 2002 that compensation would be in the region of €508 million, excluding legal costs, officials will say.
The Residential Institutions Redress Scheme was allocated €170 million in last week's Estimates, a 42 per cent rise over last year.
Officials said the increase was due to the pace at which claims are being processed under the scheme.
Latest figures show the scheme has received around 4,633 applications.
While the volume of claimants applying has decreased, applications are still arriving at a steady rate on a daily basis.
