Seanad debates

Thursday, 4 December 2008

Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage

 

5:00 pm

Photo of David NorrisDavid Norris (Independent)

Exactly. The Senator anticipated me. I said to them several times that if I was attacked by religious fervour I would go after them with a whip and whip the money changers out of the temple. Actually, they sell rosary beads and all the rest of it. It is really quite a flagrant money-making exercise, but at least the money goes to the church and towards sustaining the architectural fabric in a situation — this is not directly related to the Charities Bill, but there is a connection — in which the State, under the Constitution, appears to be precluded from supporting these remarkable pieces of our cultural and architectural heritage. I go to Clarendon Street because I know it is a reputable place and because it has a rather better standard of card. Quite apart from the fact that these cards may be signed by dead priests in India, some of them are revolting aesthetically. They are lurid beyond belief. They would really put one off the entire thing. Clarendon Street, I am glad to say, has a dignified style. I get the ones that have a little black cross. They do not have all these——I will not even describe them, but I am sure people know what I am thinking of.

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