Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

With respect, that is not good enough. The Cabinet has the authority to authorise such a commission of inquiry and the Minister for Health has already received advice from the Attorney General. It is very clear. I received a letter from a victim of this abuse and he implores the Taoiseach to do something about this, as promised. He included a copy of an e-mail he had sent to the Taoiseach a few years ago and the reply. In that reply, the Taoiseach told him that Fine Gael and the Labour Party had tabled a motion in support of an inquiry, which Fianna Fáil and the Green Party voted down. I have a copy of the motion, which is good. At the end of the letter, the Taoiseach said that Fianna Fáil and the Green Party were wrong to do this. If the Taoiseach also refuses to hold an independent inquiry, he will also be wrong. I want the Taoiseach to be right on this issue, not for his sake or my sake but for the sake of the victims. This will also build confidence that justice is possible and that flaws in our system can be corrected.

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