Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

In the past 48 hours we have collectively revisited the horror of the rape, abuse and molestation of children and its cover-up in a way that I am sure has proven incredibly difficult for victims of abuse, whether they suffered it at the hands of clerics or anyone else. In that light, I welcome that the heads of the Children First Bill have been published and are in committee and the legislation on the withholding of information. In terms of the third piece of the puzzle, the child and family support agency Bill, when can we expect to see that? As we are speaking here today, it is incredibly important that we move collectively in a constructive way on this matter. The Tánaiste correctly stated earlier that this issue, above all issues, cannot be a political football. As legislators, the best we can do for victims of child abuse and for all of our children is to make sure we move speedily on all of these legislative matters. Specifically, I ask about the child and family support agency Bill.

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