John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I thank Mr. Justice Murphy and his team for a very thorough report. The Ferns Report engenders both revulsion and deep anger in the reader. As I read some of these graphic accounts I have to confess I wanted to inflict serious injury on some of the perpetrators of this abuse. In particular, when one reads the accounts of the activities of Fr. Fortune, one is lost for words. The only way I can describe this person is evil personified. One account that stood out for me was that of Colin who said that on the day he was getting married, the priest officiating said that he believed they had a mutual acquaintance, namely, Fr. Fortune. This is a sign of a really sick mind but it also shows that there was a network of sorts in place.

As we get over our justifiable outrage we must ask serious questions because the scale of this abuse could not and cannot have taken place in a vacuum. People knew, people suspected and many people, I am afraid to say, turned a blind eye. Those who complained were ignored. It was similar to the type of culture described by Seamus Heaney when describing Northern Ireland, "whatever you say, say nothing." It appears that politicians knew because, for example, a councillor put forward a motion to the South Eastern Health Board and only got the support of one other councillor. Who were those other councillors and why did they not support that motion? The church has primary responsibility for all this but the political institutions also let these children down.

From pages 238 and 239 we also know that the report was known to the Office of the Garda Commissioner. It knew about the activities of Canon Clancy because a letter was sent to the local sergeant, yet it was not acted upon. If the Garda Commissioner knew about this, clearly the Minister for Justice at the time must have known about it, yet nothing was done and no further investigation is being carried out.

I listened to what Deputy Twomey had to say. My experience is similar to his as I too went to a diocesan college and I did not know of any priests who were involved in abuse. On occasion, some engaged in physical violence but I knew of no examples of sexual abuse. For the most part, many priests led exemplary lives in difficult circumstances. A number of things must emerge from this report. Deputy Sargent referred to this matter during Leaders' Questions. The church must reform and the issue of celibacy must be seriously examined.

We must also examine the role of the church in primary schools. I do not think priests should have an automatic right to be on school boards. The Ombudsman for Children has said that many areas need to be examined. She is on record as saying that the legislation in her areas of responsibility is not strong enough. Many sections of the Children Act 2001 have still not been implemented. Section 10 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 states that better notification is needed and the Garda needs to be in a position to better respond when we know there is a paedophile in an area. These are all areas that must be addressed on foot of this report. It is a shocking report and if it is not acted upon, that would be even more shocking.

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