Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I once again welcome the Minister whose visits to the House are becoming regular events. I also welcome the motion. I would have preferred it to have been broader than it is, but it is welcome to see at last a commission of investigation being established to investigate the handling of allegations into child sexual abuse against clergy operating under the aegis of the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin and to examine the implementation by Catholic dioceses of church guidelines and the recommendations of the Ferns Report. The terminology may not be quite correct, in that the Anglican Church terms itself a Protestant and Catholic church. It also uses the words "Catholic" and "apostolic". For us to arrogate the Catholic version is not doing it justice. Is the Minister proposing to extend it to include "Protestant"? Did he just happen to omit "Protestant"?

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