Seanad debates

Wednesday, 8 October 2003

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse: Statements (Resumed).

 

We have cases of child labour. Children of 16 and 17 years of age are working all God's hours to make a few euro to get them through the week and no one bats an eyelid. They are not in school on Fridays or Mondays and no one seems to be concerned. If we are talking about child abuse and looking back at the 1940s and 1950s, we must also provoke ourselves into talking about child abuse today and the threats posed to children. We must be aware of these threats and do something about them, rather than simply looking back at times gone by and saying we now have all the wisdom of Solomon and consequently our hands are clean of this matter. We must force ourselves to deal with this difficult issue, to remember the children of today and to do everything in our power to ensure that no such abuse happens in any area of society.

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