In 2005 the Ferns Report by a High Court Judge, Mr Justice Murphy, into the activities of certain priests of the Diocese of Ferns included various allegations made against Mgr Ledwith. In connection with the accusation of sexual abuse against a minor the Inquiry was hampered by the confidentiality clause agreed between Ledwith and the complainant, and the Ferns Report was unable to make any specific finding. It did, however, repeat the substance of accusations and noted that the complainant had alleged that the abuse began when he was 13 years old and lasted until he was 15. The Inquiry discovered that the Diocese of Ferns had spent substantial monies providing counselling for the complainant, and noted that Fr Walter Forde, who had investigated the allegation on behalf of the Diocese, reported to Bishop Brendan Comiskey that he found the accusation as 'capable of being true'.