Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is not a satisfactory answer nor will it deal with this issue. I come from a national school that was ravaged by sexual abuse. I come from a town that was ravaged by sexual abuse. I come from County Roscommon and we now have the name of the Roscommon case. We give the impression we really care but if we do not take this issue seriously it is nothing other than crocodile tears. When I lived in Galway the apartments I lived in were built on the old grounds of the laundries. I remember hearing about what was there beforehand. I got talking to some older people and they told me about how everyone knew this was going on. That has been said about much of the abuse that happened.

Now we know all of this sexual abuse is happening. We do not the extent of it because the Government will not fund an up-to-date study, even though the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has asked on several occasions for it to be done. We need to take this issue seriously. In order to take the issue seriously, no more than if one wants to take seriously the issue of speeding one needs a speedometer in the car to show the speed of the car. In the same way, if the Government wants to do something about this situation it will need the facts. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre would not be asking for another study to be funded if it thought the current studies were adequate.

The Minister of State's reply is not reassuring. It is very worrying that the Government is not willing to provide the funding. In my view it shows the Government is trying to bury its head in the sand. I will vote for the children's referendum but what use will it be? We will end up with children with rights who are hungry and if they are sexually abused we will not know about it. What sort of right is that?

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