Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

This is the first occasion the House has met since the publication of the Ryan report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. I speak as a citizen, a father and a politician. Mary Brown is a pseudonym. She was taken from her mother when she was born. Her mother was put in a mental hospital for 40 years. She had no birthdays, no school, she was beaten, savaged, raped, brutalised and she was a slave. She wondered and wonders what she was born for and what is her purpose in life. She said to me that she has cried the equivalent of the River Liffey over the years. Not a night or day passes without her feeling the hurt, pain, the need for love and the need for atonement. It shames us all and leaves every person with a measure of guilt. This is an horrific story and a sad saga for the children of the island of saints and scholars.

The least we can do is extend a hand of unity, solidarity and friendship to these brave men and women who grew up with these terrible crimes so vivid in their minds and imprinted on their souls. It is not for me or anyone else to point the finger of political accusation. I extend to the Taoiseach and the Government the hand of unity, political solidarity and political necessity to deal with the consequences of these horrendous revelations. There must be a response from the religious institutions that provides real support for the victims and recognises the moral imperative of the revelations to which everyone has access. There must be an understanding that there are many whose stories have not been told and who now find the courage to come forward.

This unity should be based on three fundamental principles. The religious orders should make a greater financial contribution. That should be agreed and formalised, not discretionary. The victims of this appalling abuse, those who have recently come forward and those who want to come forward should be consulted in some form on what they consider a necessity to bring some sense of conclusion to this. Mary Brown told me it is not just about money; what is a child's life without love?

I propose that we agree a united motion in this House this week formulating these three fundamental principles and send out a message to everybody in this country and beyond that we have not lost our sense of purpose. We should indicate that the Oireachtas, representative of all the people in this country, is able to respond in a dignified and united fashion that understands - or attempts to understand - the horrendous position in which thousands of this country's children found themselves for years. Such people are still in that position in their adult lives. I extend this invitation and will support the Government if the Taoiseach agrees that this House should send out that kind of message.

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