Minister for Health Simon Harris has called on religious orders to pay their share to victims of abuse.
It was recently revealed that religious congregations have only contributed 13% to the total cost of the child abuse redress scheme.
The total costs of over €1.5bn is supposed to be split 50-50 between the State and Religious congregations.
Health Minister Simon Harris has called on religious orders to pay their share to the scheme.
Speaking on the The Week in Politics on RTE, Mr Harris said that religious leaders in Ireland must also address the issue the next time they make a public statement.
Harris called their current contribution "pathetic and paltry" and said that Irish religious leaders should urge congregations to pay up.
He also made it clear about the extent of his proposal "I think that call should go all the way to the Vatican as well."
He said the Government would now look at "every legal tool" at its disposal to ensure the religious orders pay more of the €1.5bn compensation bill.
This contribution is underpinned by an agreement with 18 religious orders negotiated by former Fianna Fáil minister Michael Woods in 2002.
Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness said earlier today that he does not believe that agreement was the best deal for the State.
