Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I find it difficult to understand the reason no one has been jailed as a result of these abuses, although I accept some of the culprits may be in their graves. There has been talk of war crimes and so on. Some of the material contained in the Murphy and Ryan reports is almost as serious as what took place in a different fashion in Bosnia and other places in recent times. The Murphy report emphasises the absolute denial, arrogance and the cover-up involving several archbishops in the archdiocese of Dublin during the past 30 years. As a Christian, it is a source of great concern for me and the facts should be uncovered. I have spoken about the matter in this and the other House on several occasions.

There have been State tribunals to deal with several issues but the tribunal system has been abused. In case anyone misinterprets my comments, in my lifetime there have been several notable and necessary tribunals, including that which investigated the Stardust disaster, in which there was significant loss of life. It was a worthy tribunal which was short and quick. Another tribunal of note was that led by Mr. Justice Costello which investigated the Whiddy Island disaster, in which 50 lives were lost. That tribunal cost the State very little money. I do not believe in the model of a State tribunal to investigate the bribing of officials or corruption in the planning process. However, if ever a tribunal was needed to examine child abuse, I would put it at No. 3 in my order of priorities. This is something the State and the Minister should consider.

The report examines the period from January 1975 to 2004 and offers a snapshot of what took place. It lends great credit to the work of Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy. The commission investigated allegations made against a sample of 46 priests from a total of 102 and against whom 320 claims or complaints had been made. Unfortunately, the stark reality is that the report is simply a snapshot of what took place. Although it does not please me to say this, I am of the view many victims were afraid to come forward and that some probably committed suicide or emigrated. What we have is a snapshot of an appalling episode in our history, of which I feel deeply ashamed as a citizen and father. As a result of the Ryan and Murphy reports, what happened must never be allowed to happen again. When the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, publishes the report which is imminent, I hope we will enshrine in the Constitution once and for all, such that it will last beyond our lifetimes, a clause to the effect that the abuse of children will never again be allowed to happen in the State. That is my wish and hope today.