Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

Nobody should be surprised by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's statement last night. In this House I previously pointed out that the majority of child abuse occurs within the home by perpetrators known to the victim. When that happens, as I have seen myself, families can be split, with some supporting the victim and others supporting the perpetrator of the crime. We should not be surprised that Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is encountering within the church darker forces who are obstructing the changes he wants the church to make. We should have a debate in the House to offer support those bishops and others within the Catholic Church who want to bring in a new era of child protection within the church because the church still has a major role to play in our education and health systems. We should offer support to those leading lights in the church who want to see a new era in child protection in the Catholic Church. We should have a debate on that issue fairly soon to offer encouragement to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in what he is trying to do.

I also ask the Leader for a debate on Government policy on Anglo Irish Bank because we are not sure whether it wants to keep it open, wind it down or close it. We should have an early debate on this issue because it costs taxpayers billions of euro every year.