Dublin priest Ivan Payne is to be released from jail this weekend after serving four-and-a- half years on conviction of 13 sample charges of abusing eight boys.
He was a member of the Dublin Regional Marriage Tribunal of the Catholic Church from its inception in 1976 until he was suspended in 1995.
The tribunal deals mainly with people seeking to have their marriages annulled.
The child sex abuse charges for which Payne was jailed covered a period from 1968 to 1987.
Meanwhile The Irish Times has learned that another priest who was a member of the same tribunal is also facing allegations of child sex abuse.
The priest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was suspended by the Dublin archdiocese in May of this year.
A spokesman for the Dublin archdiocese confirmed last night that Payne (59) will be provided with accommodation by the archdiocese and an income equivalent to that of a retired priest.
He will not be allowed say Mass or administer the sacraments, though he remains a priest.
He abused patients in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, while chaplain there, and altar boys in Cabra and Sutton.
The victims were aged between 11 and 14.
He was jailed for six years in April 1998 which, with the usual 25 per cent remission for good behaviour, means he is being released now.
It is estimated Payne's abuse has cost the Dublin archdiocese €400,000 in compensation and legal fees.
This includes £30,000 paid to Andrew Madden, who in 1994 became the first clerical child sex abuse victim in Ireland to go public.
Last night the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, issued a statement concerning his role in the Father Thomas Naughton case as reported by the recent Prime Time programme.
He said that in September 1983 two parishioners of Valleymount, Co Wicklow came to him and expressed concern about Father Naughton's involvement with altar boys. These concerns did not refer to any specific activities or individual altar boys, he said.
He spoke to the parish priest, Father Maurice Dufficy, and asked him to inquire of people in the parish if they shared these concerns or had heard of any such concerns expressed. He contacted Father Dufficy some days later and was assured me there was no evidence of any wrongdoing.
"Subsequently I spoke with Father Naughton, he vehemently denied any wrongdoing. I insisted any activity, however innocent, which gave rise to concern among parishioners must be avoided," Bishop Murray said.
He then outlined details of the reports to Archbishop Dermot Ryan. "I wanted to be sure that there was no previous expression of concern. Archbishop Ryan indicated that he knew of no complaint about Father Naughton in relation to children. No further concern about Father Naughton's relationship with children was ever expressed to me," he said.
"I am very aware that if I had succeeded in deriving more information from the various interviews I conducted, it might have been possible to prevent some of the dreadful suffering of child abuse. I very much wish that I had been able to do so. It is a matter of the greatest regret to me that I did not manage at that time to get to the root of the problem.
"The diocese of Limerick is co-operating fully with the independent audit presently being carried out under the direction of Judge Gillian Hussey. All files relating to these matters will be made available to this commission. The diocese has always co-operated with the gardaí in their investigations into these matters and will continue to do so. It is the policy of the diocese to co-operate fully with the civil authorities."
• The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, has approved the establishment of a specialist detective unit to investigate priests who abused, it emerged yesterday. It has powers to obtain church records by warrant, even if a bishop believes the information should be withheld.
The head of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Det Chief Supt Sean Camon, is to lead the unit.A telephone helpline has been opened to receive complaints of abuse by priests. It can be contacted at Dublin 01-6663437.