Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

——who had the courage, against a background of the appalling abuse he and others suffered, to stand up some years ago for innocent young people who had been betrayed in this manner. That exemplary action should be supported through swift legislative responses. There are issues for the Catholic Church, but the most vital issue is that Canon Law cannot supersede the law of the Oireachtas, that there is no position of privilege for any group of church men or women over citizens of this country and that those in positions of trust must show, through that trust, the extent to which their organisations can change.