Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I certainly support the suggestion of Senator O'Malley in that regard. It would show some mark of respect to the people who have taken their lives as a result of the child abuse we have learned about, not alone at the hands of the priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin, and also remind us of all the other aspects of child abuse of which we have learned in other reports such as the Ferns and Ryan reports.

The shocking depravity and scale of abuse which has been revealed in the Murphy report is deeply disturbing, and all who turned a blind eye and were not prepared to stand up and be counted when children were systematically abused should hang their heads in shame and beg God's forgiveness for their inaction. Needless to say, any bishop or priest who did not do everything in his power to help the victims of this vile abuse should step aside immediately in an effort to cleanse the church and restore some confidence for the bewildered, confused and angry congregations nationwide. Nothing less is acceptable if the church wants any chance of redeeming itself in the eyes of its own congregations, and this basic requirement must happen. As other speakers have said, there should be no considering of their positions or awaiting the response of their fellow priests or parishioners - they should go, and go now, in the interests of the church which they profess to represent.

The church from its highest office must grasp the seriousness of what has been revealed and must act decisively now. I have my doubts whether it realises the seriousness of what has been revealed in the Murphy report, based on the response, or non-response, of the papal nuncio. I am surprised the Minster for Foreign Affairs has not asked the papal nuncio to come in and explain his non-co-operation with the commission. After all, he is a diplomat. He should be requested to give some explanation of his non-action in this area.

We have witnessed the Ferns report, the Ryan report and, now, the Murphy report into the Dublin Archdiocese. It is my fervent wish that each and every diocese in the country should be examined and some closure given to the victims. Others who failed to act or may have been involved in any cover-up should be exposed also. There are many bishops who would welcome a full examination of their diocese to bring some closure for the good, decent priests and bishops of the country.

The bravery of those like Andrew Madden, Marie Collins and many others who stood up to the institution which is the church is absolutely extraordinary. For all their sakes, we must ensure that not only can this never happen again but also that the State takes control of the protection of children. It should not be left to any church or institution; it is the State's job, and nothing should stop the State from doing it.

"I feel physically ill at the behaviour of my clerical colleagues" - these were the words of Fr. Brian D'Arcy, whose interview on Newstalk was reported in last weekend's Sunday Independent. His words echoed the feelings, thoughts and shame expressed by the vast majority of excellent priests who work, day in and day out, for their parishioners. All priests and bishops cannot be painted with the one brush. All religious congregations were painted with the one brush after the Ryan report yet only a small percentage of congregations were responsible for the savage abuse meted out to innocent children under their control. I spoke to several people from other congregations such as the Ursulines. They were not involved in any of the abuse referred to in the Ryan report but they felt they were all painted with the one brush. It is only fair to point out that all priests and bishops cannot be painted in the same way.

Fr. D'Arcy also made the point that when a priest wanted to get married to a woman, the church had no problem throwing him out of the priesthood, yet paedophiles were protected and moved from parish to parish to continue their abuse of children. The Vatican could say, as canon law actively states, that all priests who have been involved in paedophilia activity should immediately be laicised or defrocked - call it what one likes - so they can never possibly act or go out in the shadow of being holy again. This can be done, so what is preventing the Vatican from doing it? It cannot be allowed to continue, and I say this as a practising catholic, although not as good a one as I would wish.

As we speak, State agencies fail to provide children with the protection to which they are rightly entitled. It is Fianna Fáil-led Governments which have been in power for 20 of the last 22 years, and it is they which are responsible for the currently dysfunctional child care and protection system. In the year ended 31 December 2008, out of 24,668 reports of children at risk made to the HSE, only 15,364 were assessed and 9,304 reports of children at risk were neither assessed nor investigated. This is a damning indictment on the Minister of State and the Government. Since 2000, over 20 children under the care of the health boards or the HSE have died. No statutory independent review system of deaths of children in care exists, despite being called for by my party and the Ombudsman for Children.

The Murphy commission report states "the HSE does not properly record cases of child sexual clerical abuse" and that the current Child Care Act "does not sufficiently clarify the powers and duties of health authorities" with regard to child protection. The Government needs to explain what action it intends to take to address these issues raised in the report. For a start, it should give an absolute commitment to hold the required referendum in 2010 to give express constitutional recognition to the rights of the child, and to set the constitutional standard required to ensure the State, State agencies and the courts, when called upon, provide to children the protection to which they are entitled. It is this type of concrete Government action that is now required. We need action rather than words.

Let me return to the Murphy commission report and some of the points raised, which are as follows. The Archdiocese did not implement its own canon law rules and did its best to avoid any application of the law of the State, despite a number of those involved being canon and civil lawyers. Auxiliary bishops assigned priests to parishes without any reference to child sex abuse issues. The archdiocese was preoccupied with the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the church and the preservation of its assets. No more damning an indictment of the archdiocese could be delivered. The protection of children, respect and common decency in investigating complaints from heartbroken mothers and families were consigned to the scrap heap and child abusers were allowed continue their vile acts with the protection of church authorities.

It is only fair to compliment Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who has co-operated fully with the commission and opened all the files, which is in marked contrast to the despicable role played by his predecessors. The actions of the Garda came under scrutiny in the report as well and it was distressing to learn that a number of very senior members of the force, including a commissioner in 1960, clearly regarded priests as being outside their remit. The examples of gardaí reporting complaints to the archdiocese instead of investigating them was despicable and great credit is due to the action of many junior members of the force who carried out their duties in an exemplary manner which was in keeping with the values and principles of An Garda Síochána. I am glad the current Garda Commissioner has appointed a deputy commissioner to examine all aspects of this report and I hope that report will be clear, truthful and factual as is the Murphy report.

The victims of abuse deserve this at the very least. There should be no cover-up or protection of senior members of church and State. There should be honesty and transparency. Justice must not only be done but it must be seen to be done, and if this means amending legislation on the Statute of Limitations to facilitate victims of clerical abuse making appropriate claims of compensation, then this must be done also. The ball is in the Minister's court and that of the church. I hope we will see action rather than words.