Joe O'Toole (Independent)

On the issue we will discuss further today, whatever about the length of time from now until the end of July, about which I will listen to what the Government has to say, and which sounds long and may not be too long, the one point on which I and everybody in House completely agree with Senator Fitzgerald is that this is a time for political action. If there is to be a report, whenever it is, it should be a report to the Houses. Nobody here can justify a situation where we are not involved in and responding to this issue. I appeal to the Leader. No matter whether the report comes in July, August or whenever — it should be early rather than later although I am prepared to listen to the Government's reasoning on why it should take two months — and whatever the reason, any politician who feels he or she should be on holidays while this business is being dealt with reflects poorly on all of us. This is part of what we spoke about. Whatever the other House decides, this is another example of where the Seanad can be seen to do business, engage with topical issues and show a public political response. I ask for a commitment from the Leader that when there is a report from the Minister of State this House will debate it. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for children and youth affairs, Deputy Barry Andrews, I suppose, is a step between a junior Minister and a full Minister. Whatever the situation, I want the report discussed here.

I also ask that amidst those proposals would be a Government decision to have a day of remembrance, probably annually, for the victims of this. Time will show this is a fulcrum in our development as a State and we should not allow ourselves or succeeding generations ever to forget it.

I ask that a Government warning hang on the Christian Brothers' commitment, as they called it yesterday afternoon. There is nothing new about this. We were through all of this previously. In this House I had a major row with the Christian Brothers some years ago where that order undertook to do a particular report after a number of months when the media died down, and when it did the order did not deal with the issues. That is water under the bridge. I want to give the Leader one salient fact and I ask that this be kept in mind by everybody who speaks on this issue. In 1991 the Christian Brothers in Canada had assets to the value of €100 million. The order squirrelled it away into trusts. We, as politicians, know that to dissolve a trust needs an act of parliament.