David Norris (Independent)

I do not agree with the previous speaker. I would say that we must do something practical. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that we take today No. 34, motion 8, in my name and some of my Independent colleagues, on the exemption of the churches from the operations of the equality legislation. It is astonishing that the very agency that presided over the rape of children, forcing children to lick excrement off shoes and all the other matters, the full list of which I will not go into, has been placed above the law so that it can do further damage, and it is doing so as we speak.

At the weekend I attended a launch in Dublin, which was also attended by the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for children and youth affairs, Deputy Barry Andrews, who is a very decent man, at which a youth aged 16 told how he was not allowed by the Christian Brothers to put up anti-homophobic bullying posters in the school in which he was a student. Nothing can be done about that because in the face of this cataclysm, we are still allowing the churches exemption from the equality legislation. We are still placing them above the law and if we do nothing about that, everything else we do is utter hypocrisy.

I listened to Sr. Marianne from some order. Even the names of the orders are astonishing - the Sisters of Mercy. How much mercy was there? The names intended to show power and to confuse the ordinary people. I do not know what Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate means but I know it is supposed to mean they are terribly important etc.

I listened in horror to the oleaginous Deputy Woods excusing the disgraceful agreement that was made and stating the taxpayers will be glad to pay. They will not. Why should they? It should be 50:50 as anything else is appalling. For him then to state it was the British who urged this regime of cruelty, I do not believe there is room in this Oireachtas for a person like that.