Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I would like to support Senator Morrissey in his comments regarding the former Christian Brother, Mr. Farrell. I commend his compassion in so doing because we are living in an age where many members of religious orders feel they no longer have a voice. Everyone in this House accepts that the vast majority of the religious gave great service and have not done anything wrong. Mr. Farrell is now an innocent man, but as he has said, his life is ruined. I commend RTE for the exposure it has given him. This House has given plenty of time to defending the rights of those who have been abused. It is time for us to provide a voice for those who have been wrongly accused and whose lives have been ruined. I would go as far as Senator Morrissey did in his contribution. This is important in that the only hope we have to save the good names of those people – there are other cases – is if an apology in this case is offered from the highest voice in the land, namely the Taoiseach.