David Norris (Independent)

I welcome the debate we will have and the questioning of the Minister, Deputy Harney, but I respectfully disagree with my colleague in Fine Gael. It was quite clear from what Mr.Geoffrey Shannon said today that the situation came about, not because of an absence of social workers or of legislation, but through dereliction of duty complicated by serious and unwelcome interventions. I am not unique in this House in my absolute abhorrence and repulsion at the sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children. We all share these values.

It would be helpful if we had copies of the report. I have not received one yet although the media have. I welcome that they have and do not begrudge them it because it is important they should be allowed to comment. That said, we should have it too in order that we can discuss these matters with a degree of detail which, as it stands, will be missing.

Mr. Geoffrey Shannon also stated there had been undue deference to family support and parental rights. It is clear the social services and the interests of the children were neglected because they were bullied by what were described as right wing, Catholic, pro-family groups. These people acted in betrayal of all the decent Catholic people in this country and of Catholic social principles. It is time they were held to account because, as a result of their intervention, these unfortunate children were exposed to further, continuous, systematic, sexual, emotional and physical abuse. I take my hat off to the eldest of those children, in particular, who used money given to him by his relatives, not to buy incidentals like sweets but to store up tins of long-term food in order that he could exercise a proper parental interest in his siblings by ensuring that when they were being starved, he could at least arrange for them to be fed.

I wish to know whether it is true such people intervened and who they were. I want an end to these people who describe themselves as standing for some notional idea of the family and used that in order to sustain systematic abuse of children. In 1991, the Child Care Act, which is being revised, passed by this House. I secured a very significant amendment that introduced for the first time the guardian ad litem clause which came about in Britain after a similar case in which Maria Colwell was returned to an abusing family and murdered. I do not believe that clause, which is in law, was invoked. I am very proud of that amendment and that I stood side by side by my colleague, Senator O'Toole, when we were more or less lone voices calling for the implementation of the Stay Safe programme in schools to prevent the sexual and physical abuse of children. We were vilified and reviled by similar organisations which claimed to be standing for the rights of parents. The children must be central to the issue regarding this case of abuse which, shamefully, continued. This is not an historical situation but one that continued into our own century. There must be an end to this.