David Norris (Independent)

I beg the House's pardon. Archbishop Martin is a courageous and decent man. It is difficult to hear him say he is disheartened and that there are forces within the church. We know there are forces from yesterday's newspapers, according to which Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna stated that one of the principal officers of the church, perhaps Cardinal Sodano, had inhibited the inquiry into Cardinal Groer of Vienna and the molestation of young priests in an academy in Vienna. This was shocking. Archbishop Martin is right and decent people in the church deserve support.

Will the Leader draw to the Government's attention the fact that Adams' auctioneers just down the road from here will, at 5 p.m. on 18 May, hold an auction of important documents relating to the Famine? On Sunday, Murrisk in County Mayo will hold a commemoration of the Famine, one of the most devastating events in this country's history. The documents originated in a solicitor's office and I am unsure as to who will gain from them. Some of them are rather expensive. They are a moving record of the tragedy. One document from Mount Blakeney in County Limerick states: "The potatoes are beginning to look very bad". I am glad to see that a Church of Ireland clergyman appealed on behalf of an evicted tenant, but many other members of the clergy did not behave so well. This record should be in the possession of the State. I hope the letter from Sabrina Purcell, whose grandparents were touched by the Famine, will be acted upon by the owners of these letters and that they will be given to the people. I am also hoping the Government may be in a position to purchase at least some of them.