Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I seek a full-day debate on issues related to crime. It is amazing to read how a serial rapist can get an apartment, paid for by the HSE, in a complex where several young women are living, yet they have no indication that this individual is living among them. We should examine how we have ended up in a situation where a 21 year old gets convicted for involvement in a very serious crime, having by that stage amassed 75 previous convictions. We must hold a serious debate on criminal issues in society at present and how such a situation could occur. We should also consider a debate on how a convicted child rapist managed to get the President of a European country to carry a letter on his behalf to the President of the United States of America. This same convicted child rapist is getting the support of numerous celebrities throughout the world. It sends out a very mixed message, especially when one considers what we have been discussing with regard to the Ryan report and other reports in this country. We should hold a debate on the matter and such practices should be condemned forthwith.