Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

It is still there. If a person presented at a Garda station this morning to make a complaint about abuse or something else that was wrong, the garda on duty would probably suggest that the person go away and come back in a week because that garda did not have the expertise and the person who did was unavailable but that an appointment could be made. Anyone with the slightest cop on who understands such cases knows that such a person would walk away and would be unlikely to come back if that were the response from the first person he or she met in authority. Such people would believe they had been let down as a result of what they had seen and what had taken place in their own lives in recent years.

I call on the Leader to hold that debate in the House as some of the contributions made have been fantastic. I would very much welcome a broad debate on the issue. We have a great opportunity to learn from our collective experiences. I urge the Leader to have that debate immediately, or as soon as possible. I would love to hear more of what Members have to say on the issue.