Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I do not know if the Leader and the other Members will join me in sending our very best wishes to our Special Olympians, their families and supporters in Shanghai. Very often our culture emphasises strength and power and the vulnerable in our society are easily forgotten. The Special Olympians are witnesses to the power of love and solidarity between people and how this can triumph over adversity and, perhaps, teach the world a lesson. I am also conscious that they are competing in China. China has much to learn from the example of the Special Olympians. This is a country where human dignity is frequently trampled on. China's one child policy has made it the only country in the world where it is illegal to have a brother or a sister. As we heard on the radio yesterday, it is a country where many children with Down's syndrome simply are not born; such is the negative attitude to disability that pertains there. That these games are taking place in China is a good thing and, perhaps, it is a signal of the softening of Chinese culture in Government. I hope our Government will recognise that the progress in achieving human rights and respect for human dignity in China is not keeping pace with economic progress. I hope it will not see our strong economic links with China as somehow giving it an opt-out on the need for Ireland to be a beacon, a prophetic voice, in promoting universal respect for human dignity.

In the context of the Special Olympians I support, as I am sure the House would want to support, the aims of Down's Syndrome Ireland, as it seeks to establish a national medical resource centre for the health promotion of all persons with Down's syndrome, and their families.

A welcome has already been extended to this morning's news that the police in Ireland and Britain will undertake a campaign aimed at cracking down on those involved in human trafficking. There is a motion on the Order Paper calling for the rapid introduction of legislation to ban human trafficking. It is not enough to ban human trafficking. It is important to recognise that this activity is giving rise to a form of effective slavery——