Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Brendan Howlin, who said in the House last night that we should, if at all possible, be able to agree, as legislators, on how we respond to this dreadful case and to other cases of child abuse that, unfortunately, we have heard about over the years. Deputy Howlin referred to the Kilkenny incest case which occurred in 1993 and to the recommendations of the resulting report. Unfortunately, that report bears a great deal of resemblance to what will come out, quite possibly, from the recommendations of the investigative group that has just been established under the direction of Norah Gibbons in respect of the dreadful case in Roscommon.

Since the Kilkenny incest case in 1993, we have had the Kelly Fitzgerald case and Sophia McColgan's book, which would cause anybody's heart to go out to that family and commend the courage of Sophia McColgan and her siblings. Unfortunately, their story is very much replicated in many aspects of the current story. These children were crying out for help, and although they were in school, and in hospital on one or two occasions, there was no intervention for many years.

Reference has just been made to the Louise O'Keeffe case. I understand the State is going after Louise O'Keeffe for costs even though she was abused in a national school. While teachers are paid by the State, the actual management of the school is not the State's and, therefore, nobody appears willing to take responsibility. We have also had the Ferns case, the Cloyne diocese case and the Dublin diocese is shortly to report. The Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland, SAVI, report, indicates that more than a quarter of men and women have experienced some level of sexual abuse yet we do not appear to be making any kind of progress in regard to these dreadful issues.

As legislators, we must look at ourselves and ask what we can do as a society. We cannot simply become outraged every time there is a case like this when we have not seen any significant progress since the Kilkenny incest case back in 1993. We must ensure that we act, whether that be in terms of changing the Constitution, introducing the legislation that has been recommended, particularly in regard to so-called soft information for the protection of children, or in general updating our legislation with regard to the protection of children. Otherwise, we will have a repetition of these cases.

We need to amend the Constitution, or at least we need to put to the people an amendment to the Constitution to protect children. The heart of this issue is the balance between the rights of the family and the rights of the individual child. We must grasp that nettle, and we must come down in favour of the rights of the child. There is a long-established core of support for the family in Ireland. We need to make a cultural shift in order to ensure the protection of children. We need to ensure the protection of the child is the most important issue with regard to these cases. Until we do that, we will have the kind of delays we see in terms of intervention where it is obviously right for the children to be taken out of the family home. Whether a child is being abused by a stranger, a schoolteacher, a priest, a family member or anybody else, we must be absolutely clear that it is the welfare of the child that counts.

We need to take these measures quickly. We have done a huge amount of research into this area. I was a member of the last All-Party Committee on the Constitution which considered the rights of children. We have had enough debate, consultation and consideration. We must act now in the interests of children.

I welcome the fact Ms Norah Gibbons is the person in charge of this group. I welcome also the statement she made which indicated she could expand her committee, that she felt she had the appropriate powers and that she could, if necessary, bring in more expertise. We need to ensure there is full confidence in this investigative group but the most important point is not just to find out what has gone wrong but to learn from it and do something positive and real to protect children in the future.

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