The Archbishop of Dublin says it’s clear that the culture of safeguarding children is not evenly embedded in the Church.

Diarmud Martin was speaking after confirming fresh allegations of child abuse have been made against 5 priests in Dublin in the last year.

He says the Archdiocese has made huge strides in its child protection measures in recent years, and complaints are falling in number.

Juliette Gash reports;

Archbishop Martin became emotional when he spoke of the abuse suffered at the hands of clergy;

Five priests in the Dublin Archdiocese have been the subject of child abuse allegations since last year.

That brings to 106 the number of priests accused of child abuse in Dublin since 1940.

Of the five priests newly accused of abuse, three are dead and two are retired.

The Archdiocese says while the number of priests who are subject to complaints has risen, the rate of complaint has declined steadily over the past two years.

In the period of 2010-2011, there were around 100 complaints a year, compared to less than 40 in each of the last two years.

The Archdiocese says the ongoing decline in the number of abuse allegations against priests has allowed the the Child Safeguarding Service to significantly increase the level of child protection training it offers to parishes.

Close to 1,000 people have availed of training or information sessions in the past year.

7000 people have been Garda vetted in the past 12 months also, including bishops, priests, parish and diocesan staff, bringing to 45,000 the number of people vetted through the Diocesan system.