Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Coming here and speaking in the way we have is painful. Sometimes, after a conversation like this, you can find yourself back in a place or be stuck in a moment that you cannot get out of for a day or two or an hour or two, but the work the witnesses do at Féileacáin is such a huge public service. A lot of people are just afraid to talk about it and they do not know what to say. In some respects, when we speak to this, we are helping hundreds and thousands of other people. This will result in conversations that otherwise might not have taken place or would have taken place much later. I understand how hard it is to come in and literally bare your soul but it is for a greater good.

I hope this does not sound selfish but, for me, I was not expecting some of the things the witnesses said. To hear some of the things that are so familiar to me is very therapeutic. I know it is hard for the witnesses to say those things but it does me good to hear it and I am sure what we are discussing here, all the work the witnesses do and the legislation that Deputy Cronin is bringing forward will help a lot of people. It is a privilege to be in here in the pursuit of doing good. I thank the witnesses again.