Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

-----he wrote to the then bishop, Bishop McKiernan.

I am calling for a debate but I want to put on the record that this whole Brendan Smyth affair could have been stopped if a young east Galway novice had been listened to. He was a fine young man. He was rewarded by being shipped off to serve in Germany where, unfortunately, he lost his life in a road traffic accident. There is an element of sadness around this whole sordid Brendan Smyth affair. I wish the authorities in the church had listened to good people who wanted to do the right thing.