Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

I wish fellow Senators a productive and busy year. I would like to persevere with an issue I raised previously. I asked for the terms of reference of the HSE's independent review of the Mayo abuse case to be made public. I appreciate it is not that long since I made the request but there has been silence since then. Perhaps the Leader might assist in ensuring they are made public.

I take my leaf of perseverance from a woman who understood the value of perseverance, Mary Raftery, who, sadly, died yesterday. She was a friend and colleague and I learned much from her. However, we learned much for her. She absolutely understood the value of truth and the pursuit of truth underpinned her work, even though that is, as we all know, a difficult thing to do. She never let that stand in her way and she was vigorous in pursuit of things that she believed were important for us as a country to face up to. If we do not face up to that which happened in our past, we will be unable to prepare properly for the future. I would like to acknowledge the work she did and the loss her death will bring to all of us. We should all aim to persevere when circumstances are difficult and, in particular, persevere for the truth. She was a fine and shining example of that capacity.