Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy McDowell, on his appointment and I am sure he will be an excellent reforming Minister. He has some exceptional public servants at his side who have contributed a great deal. Whatever may have been the case in the past, there is much progress and enlightenment to be found in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform today. Very good progress was made by his predecessor, but the benchmark of success will be the ability to describe cities and towns as safe. There are cities in Europe that are described as safe, but I am not sure we can say that about too many of our cities; there is clearly a distance to go.

Everyone is subject to the law. Without getting into the Minister's opening remarks on clerical sexual abuse I note, in an historical sense, that the State has now become distinctly Gallican as opposed to ultramontane. I have some reservations about some of the very strong points made by Senator Norris regarding equality legislation. The ethos of institutions is very important to minorities as well as majorities. I was present at meetings between the Taoiseach and representatives of four of the main churches. One does not want to see circumstances where a teacher is dismissed because of something in their private life, but neither does one want people in a school or an institution who are openly, consciously and deliberately undermining its ethos. I have some sympathy with Senator Walsh and Senator Norris regarding corporal punishment. I have no doubt that there are some downsides to it but the risk of physical abuse is so great that I would not be prepared to accept it.