Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I must reply to Deputy Shatter. I listened intently to what he had to say but, unfortunately, he went on to make a political charge that is totally unfounded. What he is seeking to portray as a veil of secrecy is not a veil of secrecy. He tries to conjunct an issue which we all agree was appalling - the vista that will emerge with respect to a bygone time which is, thankfully, no longer with us - and which relates to institutional facilitation of abuse with another tragedy which took place in recent times. The Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, has been anxious to put the facts of that case to the fullest extent possible in the public domain for discussion. There is no veil of secrecy involved. It is a question of the protection of rights, something the Deputy would be very quick to defend in his own profession,-----

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