Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

Many Senators asked how we can ensure society will not tolerate abuse in the future. As a counsellor I dealt with problems in the education system and learned the importance of creating the home-school links and understanding how families work. It is a question of following through and putting in place appropriate infrastructure such that the gaps that exist after 4 p.m. are not left wide open. The commission and Department will have a duty to ensure the existence of such infrastructure and a network. The commission must take on board its documentation and publish its report, after which it will finalise its work on investigating the sexual and physical abuse of the past.

Let us not forget that society and infrastructure have changed. There are more dysfunctional backgrounds and dysfunctional families nowadays and there is human trafficking. We must deal with these issues on a larger scale. The problems are more visible than they used to be and it should therefore be easier to tackle them.

I congratulate the former Taoiseach on establishing the commission and on apologising to the victims in respect of the atrocities perpetrated on them. We must look to the future. The commission, when it publishes its final report, should send out a very strong signal to the effect that abuse will not be tolerated by society and that the Department of Health and Children will put in place guidelines for educationalists and health officials to ensure the protection of our children.