John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I share the sentiments expressed by those Senators who spoke in support of Archbishop Martin of Dublin, in particular of his suggestion that certain elements are still reacting inappropriately, to say the least, to the crisis that has struck the church over its handling of child sexual abuse. The situation has not changed. Canon Law is at one with the State law. There is no dichotomy; they are ad idem. This crime is regarded as a heinous crime in both State law and Canon Law. There is no doubt that everybody in the State must comply with the State law and the people who are responsible under Canon Law must comply with Canon Law and State law. That is quite clear and that cannot change.

I thank the Leader for the amount of time he has given and continues to give to facilitate debate on the banking situation and the outside influences in the economy, and I support the calls for debate in this respect. I am conscious that the model of banking that existed in this part of the world, in particular the City of London and on Wall Street, was one that did not work and that gave us the severe crisis that now exists in the financial services area. Hedge funds in the mercantile exchange have now put a €15 billion bet again Greek debt. That is a serious matter, which requires legislation to deal with the abuse of the financial system by certain sectors in the financial services area. I am conscious of the seriousness of abuse in this area. The Great Depression was caused by an excess of credit, which led to many severe consequences throughout Europe and helped the spread of extremism in politics, including the rise of fascism.

Given that Members mentioned the Easter Rising on the Order of Business last week, it is appropriate to mention the 65th anniversary of the Second World War, which took place last week, and pay tribute to those allies who fought against the cancerous tumour of fascism.