Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

Dr. McCabe consistently reported that accommodation at the school was overcrowded and its equipment poor. At one time she noted that medical records were not kept and added the cryptic comment, "perhaps too revealing". She reported that the children's clothes were tattered and torn and that they lacked shoes except in winter. The Department knew about conditions at the school, therefore, but did nothing. Former residents of the school spoke about their hunger.

What are we going to do about the Ryan report? When will its recommendations be implemented and who will monitor them? Have we matured as a society in dealing with the vulnerable? What is our attitude to gays and lesbians, travellers, coloured people and other nationalities? Since 2000, 486 children have gone missing from asylum hostels, of whom 425 remain unaccounted for. Should we accept that? If they were Irish children I am sure there would be a stink and a storm but just because they are not Irish we accept the situation. These hostels are not properly examined and State inspections of accommodation in which unaccompanied migrant children are placed have yet to commence. According to a report by Shane Phelan in the Irish Independent, almost one in five foreign children placed in the HSE's care goes missing and is never found. We must absorb the lessons of the Ryan report by ensuring the horrors it describes are never inflicted on anyone in our society again.

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