Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On this charade of scoping reviews and probes, external reviews and senior forensic accountants, some of these same accountants were involved and advised us that the banking system was in pristine condition hours before the banks collapsed. I have no faith whatsoever in this charade. What we should be talking about are the evictions, the horror of homelessness and all the other savage attacks on our people.

RTÉ set the tone for presidential elections. It chose what candidates were elected and what questions were asked of them. It interfered in referendums. It was not independent. It is scandalous. Then, it rolled out these sideshows every night with other ex-RTÉ people. Some of the new NGOs and woke people want to change us all and tell us we are all backward people. We must be forward-thinking. They tell us lies and play all their charades. What people should be talking about is the explosive paper that was published last week that said our most vulnerable young people are being raped and sexually exploited by gangs of predatory men and it is happening while they are in the care of Tusla, the State agency charged with keeping our children safe. It is a shocking indictment. On the same day everyone was agog at the RTÉ saga, far more disturbing revelations were being made in a scoping report called Protecting Against Predators: A Scoping Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Young People in Ireland - my God, there are different types of predators everywhere - that outlined what is happening to children, which is what these girls are, at the hands of sick, evil perverts of men and predatory males. Vulnerable children in care in Ireland are clearly being targeted for sexual exploitation and abuse by gangs of predatory men, as that new report from University College Dublin, UCD, has revealed, and it barely gets a mention. We are here merrily dancing around - he stepped out, I stepped in again, Lanigan's Ball, Finnegan's Ball. To hell with the ball, the ball is over. They have dropped the ball. They embraced every kind of thing that went against ordinary families who are struggling to pay licences and keep themselves in jobs. It is a charade.

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