Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

My views are well known with regard to the right to life, which is the most fundamental of all human rights. Nobody has the right to interfere with it in any shape or form. However, a very close second to that crime would be the defilement and destruction of the innocence of people. There is a very short period in people's lives, up to adolescence and perhaps a little beyond, where the joy and innocence of that era should not be defiled or stolen from children. Unfortunately, we have found in the past that this did happen. Therefore, it is essential that people take responsibility.

I hope that we can broaden Thursday's debate beyond the percentage of victims who are subjected to abusive people in the clergy to the broader issue of sexual abuse right across society, from other organisations and within the family. It is important we do not lose sight of the need for protective measures to be in place throughout society.