Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I thank the Leader for allowing this discussion to take place so soon after the request from Senator Fitzgerald and myself. It was important to do so. I will begin by looking into the future and I ask the departmental officials present to consider what I say. I will echo a point made by Senator Mary White and put five simple facts on the record. Recently, the Irish Mental Health Commission stated that 247 children are wrongly incarcerated in adult mental institutions throughout the State. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children reported that last year it took more than 600,000 calls for help but because of a lack of resources it was able to respond to fewer than half of them. Over recent years 360 non-national children were lost by the HSE. They were on the records but now they have vanished and we do not know whether they have absconded, have become sex slaves, were killed or have left the country. Residential homes and institutions for children with intellectual challenges are exempt from inspection but surely of all groups they should be included and Senators White and Corrigan have made this point. There is a current court case — I will not mention any details — concerning the murder of a 14 year old child who was on our list of at-risk children but who was dead for more than a year before anyone thought to look for her. This is how we cherish the children of the nation equally as proclaimed by the Constitution and it is worthwhile putting this on the record prior to stating anything else.

I want to outline a number of issues which are of some importance to me. People may not like what I will state because I will refer to some of the shady and sinister Catholic organisations to which I referred last week. People stated I should say more about them and I am quite happy to do so. Since I came to this House 22 years ago I have lost count of the number of times I have raised and spoken on these issues.