Eoghan Harris (Independent)

It is important we are allowed to debate and reflect on it. It is the equivalent for us of what the Germans went through. The reason the Germans can hold their head up in Europe is because in the 1950s, there were trials all over Germany, which are not mentioned much in the media and are not part of the Holocaust porn industry one sees on television. In every major town in Germany, there were trials of local Nazis, and that kind of due diligence in pursuing the guilty must be part of the Irish republic's response to this report.

We must also be allowed to reflect on every aspect of the report and not be rushed. Therefore, we need every chance to debate it from all sides, so everyone is heard, including decent brothers and priests who did their duty. All parties must be heard, especially the victims. That must be worked out.

It is running story. The report on the archdiocese of Dublin will be released in the next few weeks. I am concerned this will happen in the middle of summer and may not be adequately debated, but it is to be hoped the archbishop of Dublin will show the same diligence in being transparent about his own significant property portfolio, which is probably the largest and most valuable in the State, as he has been in requiring religious congregations to pay up.

I hope the comparatively small voices of the victims are heard and that, for example, Michael O'Brien's simple request that the GAA hold a minute's silence be considered. All aspects of the report should be reflected and worked on without rushing away from it because how we handle this issue is important. It will leave an indelible stain on the Irish republic.

The Germans hold up their heads because they dealt with their past. Let us deal with our own past and not run away from it now. We should take every chance to mark the release of the report. As part of marking it, I call on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, to consider the incarceration of almost 4,000 people in our prisons. Many people are in jail for minor crimes against property, such as fines or small thievery, and are in their own way social victims. The Minister should consider, in marking the release of this report, a general amnesty for minor offenders and review of those currently serving time in prisons in view of the overcrowding and difficult conditions in jails and to mark a moment of humanity.