Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I join colleagues in welcoming the debate that will take place on the Murphy report and its conclusions. In the last two weeks the Ombudsman for Children published a report on the number of separated children in the country and the way in which they are being cared for. While I hope none of those children has been subject to the abuse documented in the Murphy report, it is very clear they are being treated in a way that is not in keeping with the standards and attitudes we are looking to achieve, particularly in light of the report and the discussion we are having. I hope we can keep this in mind in any debate we have on this issue.

My second point concerns the role of State authorities, which my colleagues have pointed to already. To find at best incompetence and, worse, the appearance of collusion with State authorities and the church, if anything, makes the evil and disgrace we are talking about of a greater order. I welcome the fact the Garda Commissioner has ordered that one of his assistant commissioners will immediately investigate this and prepare a report for the DPP to ascertain whether there is any case for criminal liability that can be acted upon.

I conclude by making reference to the discussions on social partnership taking place in Government Buildings. As others have done, I welcome the huge endeavour and labour from both sides. One concern I have is the apparent plan to reduce the number of hours worked in return for agreement to wage reductions. If one considers the issues we raise each day, such as the length of the school year, the delays in medical card applications and delays in social welfare cases being dealt with, we have to ask whether those problems will get better or whether they will get worse if such an agreement is implemented.