Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

My questions are not dissimilar. Did the Taoiseach raise the question of the redress payments due from the church when he met representatives of the Catholic hierarchy? The latest figures available to us show that €85 million of €700 million, which was promised by the church to fund the redress board, has been paid. That is 13% of what was committed to. These figures come from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Did that come up in the discussion? What did the Taoiseach say to them? What was their response?

There is considerable concern about the convergence of a number of events - the World Meeting of Families which is to take place here in Ireland, the Pope's visit which will obviously be very high profile and the referendum on the eighth amendment. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure that there may be a connection between these three things and it might be wise to separate out the referendum on the eighth amendment from the other two. It might be only fair and just to separate these out in order that a clear, unambiguous and balanced debate can take place. I reiterate the question that was already asked. I ask the Taoiseach to outline the discussion on the timing of these visits and the referendum on this amendment?

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