The Taoiseach Enda Kenny says religious institutions need to "measure up" and pay their fair share of the costs of child 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.

His comments follow remarks by the Health Minister Simon Harris, who suggested the Pope should intervene.

Mr 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."

Speaking in the United States, Mr Kenny says church groups accepted their responsibilities and now need to live up to them.

"The church and the congregations should measure up to the responsibility that they accepted here.

"We had a position following the residential institutions and the amount of restitution to be made there, and that hasn't been - what was set out in the beginning.

"And I would expect that the congregations and the church would reflect on the seriousness of this, and measure up to their requirements".