Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to discuss the development of child welfare and protection services. As Deputy Shatter has said, no proper model of child care services exists at present. The structure that is in place is grossly inadequate, seriously flawed and very secretive. Nobody knows what is going on. This is particularly sad given that we are talking about this country's children. We are supposed to cherish the children of the nation but, since the foundation of the State, that has not been the case. The opposite has happened over the decades. It is a sad reflection on the manner in which we have done our business at all levels. The pillars of society - the church and the State - have been found seriously wanting in this regard. Not only have they been negligent, but in many cases they have colluded in the mistreatment and mismanagement of the children of this country.

It is incredible to think that this most vulnerable of all areas enjoys the least legislative or constitutional protection. Eighty years or more after the foundation of the State, it is not good enough that there is no constitutional framework, outside a passing reference to their parents, to protect children or to consider their welfare. We have yet to arrange a referendum on a constitutional amendment that would provide a constitutional framework in this area for once and for all. Legislative provisions could then be enacted to develop that framework, in which the children of the country would have the necessary protections in law.

The early discussions we had on the issue of the sexual and physical abuse of children by those who were entrusted with their care focused on the failures of the State authorities, including the Department of Education and Science, and the failures of the clergy in parishes and institutions. Members are familiar with the Ferns report, the Ryan report and last year's Murphy report, each of which revealed an atrocious and horrific litany of abuses. Nobody would imagine that such abuses could happen to adults in a totalitarian regime, but we had such a regime for children, in effect. Innocent children were taken from their homes and imprisoned in institutions for the early formative years of their lives. Their parents trusted the clergy in the Archdiocese of Dublin and other dioceses to look after them, but instead they were abused. Nobody cried halt. None of the institutions of the State said anything. The law enforcement authorities often colluded in these activities. The Garda was not informed in many cases. When it was informed, it seldom took any action.

It is incredible to think that the entire paraphernalia that was built to provide a civilised society in Ireland after the foundation of the State could not find a means of putting proper monitoring and supervising mechanisms in place. This did not just happen once or twice - it happened decade after decade between the 1930s and the 1980s. We are still coming to terms with the extent of what was going on. Some of those who were involved continue to hold various positions. The leadership of the church, in particular, was diabolical. Leadership was only shown in order to effect a cover-up, protect the church, avoid scandal and ensure the reputation of the church was not tainted. At the same time, the church was being destroyed internally by excesses of the clergy, including those in positions of authority. One has to ask how it could have happened. It did happen. There was nobody to prevent it from happening.

I would like to speak about the importance of the findings of the two reports, the most recent of which was the Murphy report on the huge Archdiocese of Dublin. The findings, which were based on a representative sample of 47 priests, were atrocious. The Ryan report on the residential institutions and industrial schools also painted a very grim picture. I often come across cases of this kind in my constituency of Dublin Central. Over the years, many of those who ended up in St. Patrick's juvenile institution or Mountjoy Prison, in particular, had long legacies of incarceration as children in industrial and reformatory schools throughout the country. As long ago as 1979, I conducted a survey of 200 prisoners and found that 80% of them had been to reformatory or industrial schools. It was just atrocious. However, there was no real interest in dealing with this terrible situation.

It was bewildering to learn that innocent children were abused by clergy in many parishes in my constituency on the north side of Dublin, like other parts of the city. Their lives were taken away and they were traumatised. This happened in the parishes, as distinct from the wholescale State institutionalisation which took place in working class areas and poorer areas of the city where the manner in which children were treated was almost like ethnic cleansing. They were taken out of their communities and put into these schools.

It is important that we do not leave it at this. There have now been a number of inquiries. Each one has thrown up greater horrors. Every diocese in the country should have an inquiry. People might say this is too much to do but it has to be done. What we have seen, where inquiries have taken place, clearly reveals that there was a common practice which was not limited to the narrow geographical boundaries of the dioceses of Ferns and Dublin or to the institutions or reformatory schools. Clearly, it was wider. The other reason for doing that is because so many of the priests were moved around within dioceses and to other dioceses. In order to clear the air and to ensure we can build on the past and move into the future, we must do that.

A number of other things need to be done. The Murphy commission found that the legislation governing the role of the HSE in dealing with child sexual abuse was limited and inadequate, and that the Government should introduce measures to correct that defect. I asked the Tánaiste on the Order of Business whether any measures were in train and she knew nothing about it, so I presume there are none.

I would like to know if there has been any progress in the Garda inquiry which was instituted last July and whether any files have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The European Union established a hotline for missing children, 116000-EU, in 2007 which is working in 11 member states. I asked the Tánaiste about it on the Order of Business and she knew nothing about it. Why can Ireland not get it? There are hundreds children missing from our care services - we have seen that in recent years - whom nobody knows anything about. We also have a bad track record on human trafficking, including the trafficking of children. That is an urgent matter which should be dealt with.

I wish to refer to adoption. We have made a mess out of it. It is a serious matter which concerned thousands of parents in this country. We have taken shortcuts and there have been irregularities. The Minister of State instituted an investigation on this matter regarding one particular agency. Many parents have been left in the lurch. It is another area in which we need to get our act together in terms of the protection and welfare of children.

There has been some recent speculation that the churches and religious institutions would get together and make a substantial contribution to the construction of the national paediatric hospital on the Mater site. That would be wholly appropriate. They have caused so much damage to children that it would be symbolic were they to put the assets and funds into providing an institution for the care, attention, welfare and treatment of children.

See this speech in context