James Heffernan (Labour)

This morning in this Chamber we gather in the dark shadow of the report into the diocese of Cloyne. While we are here trying to digest the horrific findings of this damning report, the main protagonist in it, Bishop Magee, is nowhere to be found. It is high time he faced the music. I hope the Garda Commissioner will see fit to follow up on Bishop Magee and make him account for his actions or, rather, his inaction. What he did is nothing short of criminal negligence.

I know well the effects clerical abuse have had on victims and their families and I want to take this opportunity to praise those survivors and their families for the bravery they have shown in standing up to these vile and evil perpetrators. It has not been an easy road for them and I hope they will begin to find some sort of closure with the publication of this report.

We cannot let this process stop here. It is still unknown how many other victims there are in the 26 other dioceses. The most shocking aspect of this report is that it is not dealing with terrible wrongs committed in the distant past. Instead, it examines the diocese of Cloyne and how it dealt with complaints made from 1996 to early 2009. The Vatican, with whom the ultimate responsibility for the cover-ups and the deception lies, should now be made accountable for its actions. What we need in this House is for a senior church spokesman, such as the papal nuncio, to come here and explain the measures the church is taking to ensure this will never happen again.