Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

I support other Senators who asked the Leader to keep child protection to the fore of our agenda. I agree with all Senators who have spoken on this issue, in particular Senator Ó Murchú when he said we need several debates. We do need several debates. The Senator said, quite rightly, that what happened in Rome over the past few days was the beginning of a process. If it is the beginning of a process, why is there so much public outcry against what is coming back to us? Groups such as the Rape Crisis Centre and those who are victims of child abuse have spoken against what has been brought back to us. I watched the news recently and saw our 25 bishops, who are all good men, in their long clerical robes and skull caps and it put the fear of God into me. I can imagine what it did to those who have been abused by clerics.