HSE went ahead with audit despite lack of details
The HSE yesterday admitted it decided to go ahead with its audit of child protection policies in Catholic Church dioceses even though it knew it could not receive all the information it needed.
The audit of each diocese did not have details about cases of alleged child abuse or even the number of priests involved because the bishops refused to comply with this Section 5 part of the audit questionnaire on legal grounds.
A spokesman for the HSE said yesterday: "The HSE did seek legal advice on this matter.
"Our legal advice recognised the legal difficulties raised by the bishops.
"The HSE informed the office of the Minister for Children of our inability to proceed with the full audit and informed them that rather than abandon the exercise, the HSE would proceed without the inclusion of Section 5," the HSE said.
- Eilish O'Regan
