The Ferns inquiry report has found more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse were made against 21 priests in the Co Wexford diocese and strongly criticised the handling of these allegations by two bishops.
The 270-page report, which was released today, describes the response by Dr Donal Herlihy to the allegations as "wholly inappropriate and inadequate". Dr Herlihy was the Bishop of Ferns between 1963 and 1983.
In 1966 Bishop Herlihy moved a priest from Wexford to the Diocese of Westminster, which was not told the reason why. The priest was given no treatment, and two years later returned to the south-east of Ireland.
In 1973 another priest who faced sex abuse allegations was also transferred to Westminster. In a third instance during the 1980s, the bishop sent two priests to a professor in University College Dublin for assessment and, following unfavourable reports, both were appointed as curates.
The actions of his successor, Dr Brendan Comiskey, were also criticised, with the report saying he "failed to recognise the paramount need to protect children as a matter of urgency from potential abusers". Bishop Comiskey resigned from the diocese in 2002.
Bishop Comiskey believed priests should be removed from active ministry when allegations were made against them. While he received complaints against 10 living priests and four others who had died, none of them were forced to step aside from active ministry while under his controlm the report found.
However, the actions of the acting Bishop of Ferns, Dr Eamonn Walsh, who was also an auxilliary bishop during Dr Cumisky's term, were found to have been an "adequate and appropriate response".
The report also found the Garda inquiry into allegations of child sexual abuse in the parish of Monageer was "neither adequate or appropriate". It said subsequent to 1990, the approach was effective and appropriate but cites a number of complaints prior to that date where there was a failure to properly investigate and keep proper records.
A senior church figure, who cannot be named by ireland.comfor legal reasons, had a number of allegations of abuse levelled against him in two separate locations and was placed under Garda surveillance though wrong-doing was not established.
Of the 21 accused priests, ten are now dead, three have been defrocked, seven are no longer on normal duties and one has retired, according to the report. Six of these priests have been named in the report, the remainder are referred to by letters of the Greek alphabet.
Examining the response of the South Eastern Health Board to allegations of abuse, the inquiry found that it acted appropriately in the cases of four priests.
Highlighting one of the most brutal claims of abuse, the inquiry found counselling and support was only offered to 10 children abused by one priest seven years after the alleged incident. The inquiry team said they were struck by "the hurt still borne by mature and fair-minded victims who gave evidence before it."
Speaking at the publication of the report, Minister of State at the Department of Health Brian Lenihan said: "On behalf of the Government, I want to condemn in the strongest possible terms, the repeated failure and gross dereliction of duties of those in positions of trust in teh diocese of Ferns who engaged in acts of child abuse or failed to take effective steps to defend and vindicate the rights of the children concerned."
The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said this evening he would act on the report's recommendation that a new criminal offence relating to engaging in conduct that creates a substantive risk of bodily injury or sexual abuse to a child or failing to take reasonable steps to alleviate such risk be introduced.
Mr McDowell said he would bring forward amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill to deal with this recommendation.
The Government has decided to refer the report to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The focus of the report was in accounting for the allegations and examining the response by agencies including the South Eastern Health Board, An Garda and the Catholic Church to them. It was not concerned with establishing the veracity of the allegations.
Only those priests convicted in the courts, who are deceased, have been named. They are: Fr Seán Fortune, Fr James Grennan, Fr James Doyle, Fr Donal Collins and Canon Martin Clancy. A senior church figure named in the report cannot be published by ireland.comfor legal reasons.
The complainants were not named.
Proportionally, the number of priests accused of sex abuse in Ferns is believed to be among the highest uncovered in any Catholic diocese worldwide.