Caít Keane (Fine Gael)

I will continue where Senator Bradford left off. Is the Minister confident that the Bill is strong enough? I read about regulations that came from Rome on the congruent clerical ethos on the child protection guidelines. It was in response to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which we know is answerable and where the boss is the Pope. The document was drawn up in response to its call from Rome. It concluded that there was no legal obligation to report abuse. That is what bishops were told in Rome.

Child protection guidelines issued this week by the Italian bishops conference concluded with an observation that there is no judicial obligation on bishops to report suspected cases of child abuse to the police. That is not the case in this country. I stress that it is in Rome, but we all belong to the same church, the Holy See, which is governed by Pope Benedict, who is the boss of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and we all have the same beliefs.

A bishop holds no public office, nor is he a public servant – it is all "hes" because there are no "shes", even though we saw a Catholic minister from a Methodist church in Ballsbridge today and I welcomed her. Under Italian law a bishop is not obliged to report facts on sexual abuse? People are concerned because the document relates to judicial matters. If that is the case in Rome and our boss is there, is the Minister certain that it does not transfer to this jurisdiction? I wish to ensure that we have all the t's crossed and the i's dotted. I know the Irish bishops and I congratulate them on the regulations they have introduced. My understanding is that the regulations in this country are different to those that pertain in Italy. My concern is that the legal regulations we are drawing up will cover everyone in the same way and that the onus is on everyone to report suspected cases of child abuse and that children come first. To put children first should be the first obligation before one's obligation to church and State or any other obligation. We must ensure that the legislation in this country is strong enough to do that.