Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his response and welcome the fact that there will be a comprehensive Dáil debate on this issue, just as there has been on quite a number of other issues and scandals, as I outlined. At that time, people did not claim that people were being political or whatever in discussing abuse within the Catholic Church. I can recall Deputy McDonald's words in respect of the abuse of children in the Dublin diocese. She stated:

The report on clerical sexual abuse of children in Dublin exposes how the most powerful men in the Catholic Church in the Dublin Diocese conspired to protect abusers of children. It was a gross betrayal of generations of children.

The most powerful men within the IRA interrogated victims of abuse at the hands of leading members of the IRA. That happened.

The most powerful men conspired to protect the abusers and swore the victims to silence. It is unpalatable to have to say that. There may be Members in the House who do not like me saying that but there is no getting away from it. It is an unpalatable truth. The difficulty is that the power and fear here was much greater than anywhere else and victims will tell one that.

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