Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

On 20 July the Taoiseach made comments in the Dáil with regard to the Vatican frustrating inquiries over the previous three years. These comments were unfounded but were not corrected. A second issue involved a quotation attributed to the Pope which dealt with an entirely different matter relating to the vocation of the theologian but was applied in a pejorative manner to the child abuse scandal. When that was clarified by the Vatican, the record was not set straight. The third issue arising was the closure of the residential embassy to the Vatican. The fourth issue, which disturbed me and many others, was the Clontarf report that sought to discriminate against Catholics in the public service and remove religion from all schools. Such blatant anti-Catholicism has not yet been disowned by senior people within the Labour Party. I recognise there are good people in the Labour Party and Fine Gael who share my concerns and would like to see a papal visit.

There is little point in being critical of human rights abuses in respect of freedom of religion in far away countries if we do not stand up against similar breaches of human rights in this country. I hope we can stand together on this motion rather than divide on it.