Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I join in the call by Senator Fitzgerald for an all-party debate. We should highlight the need for collective responsibility of the Judiciary, medical professionals and families who turned a blind eye to what was going on. I agree with other speakers that there were some very good people in religious orders. I got a very good education from the Mercy order. While canvassing in recent days I heard stories to the effect that a "cruelty man" came around and took children away from their homes. I was told that the payment for a child was £9. That money went to fund the institutions, but most of the children in those institutions did not get an education. It is a terrible indictment of all of us that that went on.