Under intense pressure over his handling of abuse allegations against notorious paedophile Brendan Smyth in 1975, the Primate has asked for a Bishop to be appointed to support him.

"In the years that remain to me as Archbishop of Armagh, I am fully committed to building on the substantial progress made in child safeguarding in recent years and to working to bring about the healing, repentance and renewal set out for the Church in Ireland by Pope Benedict XVI," the Cardinal said.

"I am fully committed to the path that as a Church we must take to the truth that will set us free."

The 70-year-old Cardinal said his Diocese of Armagh would appoint a full-time director of child safeguarding to handle all future suspicions and allegations of abuse and report directly to civil authorities.

The All-Ireland Primate was this week expected to announce his future in the Church amid calls for his resignation over the Smyth scandal.

He faced damning criticism after it emerged he interviewed two young people in 1975 who alleged they were abused by Smyth and sworn to secrecy.

The Cardinal, who has spent weeks meeting survivors of abuse publicly and privately, did not report the case to civil authorities.

In his statement - following the announcement of an all-island audit into how the Church handles abuse allegations - the senior cleric said he has asked for his own Diocese of Armagh to be inspected by Vatican officials.