Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this sad and tragic report. Terrible hurt and pain was inflicted on many people at a vulnerable age. I am a practising Catholic and, like most of us, I am probably an á la carte Catholic. However, my faith and my church is important and, while I cannot compare anything with the hurt of the children who were abused, those of us to whom faith is important have also been deeply hurt by this exposé. Those who perpetrated and covered up the abuse should understand the hurt of people whose church is important to them. I have never felt the Catholic Church is the be all and end all of everything. Other churches have a similar role. I did not have a choice, but if I had, I would probably have become a Methodist because I have enormous regard for Methodists in my area. There is also a large Church of Ireland congregation in my area and one of the most moving events I ever attended at home was a 9/11 memorial service involving the Methodist, Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic congregations in the local Roman Catholic Church led by the Methodist minister.

Those who perpetrated and covered up the terrible acts against children represented Christ on earth. I would like to remind them of what Christ said about children and how they should be dealt with. I refer to St. Matthew's gospel, which states:

At the time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child whom he put among them and said: "Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes you. If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depths of the sea.

"Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks. Occasions for stumbling are bound to come but woe to the one by whom stumbling blocks come. If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the hell of fire. Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of my Father in heaven.

What do you think?"

If the people who perpetrated these crimes read the words of their own master, they would see how wrong they were and if those who covered up their crimes read them, how could they ever justify covering up such deeds?

I refer to the effect of sexual abuse on children. When child abuse occurs, a victim can develop a variety of distressing feelings, thoughts and behaviours. No child is psychologically prepared to cope with repeated sexual stimulation. Even a two year old who cannot know sexual activity is wrong will develop problems resulting from the inability to cope with over-stimulation. A child of five or older who knows and cares for the abuser becomes trapped between affection or loyalty for the person and the sense that sexual activities are terribly wrong. If the child tries to break away from the sexual relationship, the abuser may threaten the child with violence and loss of love. A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults and can become suicidal.

Children who have been sexually abused have difficulty relating to others, except on sexual terms, and some become child abusers or prostitutes, or experience other serious problems when they reach adulthood. Often there are no obvious physical signs of child sexual abuse. A number of signs can be detected through physical examination by a doctor. Sexually abused children may develop an unusual interest in or avoidance of all things of a sexual nature. They experience sleep problems and they often have nightmares. They suffer depression and can withdraw from friends or family. They may make statements that their bodies are dirty or damaged or fear there is something wrong with them in the genital area. They may refuse to go to school or they may become delinquent and have behavioural problems. They often become secretive and they sometimes display aspects of their sexual molestation in their drawings, games and fantasies. They may be unusually aggressive and may present with suicidal behaviour and ideation. Child sexual abusers can make the child extremely fearful of telling someone and the child can only talk freely when a special effort has helped the child feel safe. If a child says he or she has been molested a parent should try to remain calm and reassure the child that what happened was not the child's fault. Parents should seek a medical examination and a psychiatric consultation.

The initial and short-term effects of abuse usually occur within two years of the termination of the abuse. These effects vary, depending on the circumstances of the abuse and the child's stage of development. The effects may include regressive behaviour such as a return to thumb sucking and bed wetting, sleep disturbance, eating problems, behaviour and-or performance problems in school, and non-participation in school and social activities.

The negative effects of child abuse can affect the victim for many years and into adulthood. Adults sexually abused as children commonly experience depression and high levels of anxiety in these adults can result in self-destructive behaviour such as alcoholism and drug abuse, anxiety attacks, situation specific anxiety disorders and insomnia. Many victims encounter problems in their adult relationships and adult sexual functioning. Re-victimisation is a common phenomenon in people abused as children. Research has shown that child sexual abuse victims are more likely to be victims of rape or be involved in physically abusive relationships as adults.

The ill effects of child abuse are wide-ranging and there is no one set of symptoms or outcomes. Some children report little or no psychological distress from the abuse but these children may be afraid to express their emotions or may be denying feelings as a coping mechanism. Other children may have sleeper effects, experiencing no harm in the short term but suffering serious problems in later life.

Can a child recover from sexual abuse? In an attempt to better understand the ill-effects of child abuse, psychologists have studied the factors that may lessen the impact of abuse. Factors that affect the amount of harm done to the victim include the age of the child, the duration, frequency and intrusiveness of the abuse, the degree of force used and the relationship with the abuser. Children's interpretation of the abuse, whether they disclose the abuse and how quickly they report it also affects the short and long-term consequences. It is very easy to abhor child sexual abuse but it is important to understand the effects and the destructive outcome for children.

See this speech in context