David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also call for a debate on the report of the Ombudsman for Children. She is a remarkable servant of the State who has done us proud. She indicated there was a substantial increase in the number of complaints made. Interestingly she said she specifically chose individual cases which would highlight principles and affect the entire system so that it was not just one individual case. She went on to make a point very close to my heart. She said that very often the bureaucracy was more concerned with protecting the system than protecting the children. The children absolutely must come first and that is why it is so important that we support the referendum on children's rights.

Continuing from that, I am very concerned at the situation regarding the national children's hospital. We were promised that it would be operational in 2016. What a fitting commemoration of the moves to found this State with the Rising of 1916. However, it seems that the children may, once again, be betrayed because if the Government continues with this toing and froing I do not see how the hospital could be built by then.

It is a shame that the children will not be cherished in 2016 in the way they should be by the building of the hospital. I was impressed by Dr. Coulter-Smith from the Rotunda who said that this decision should be a decision in the interests of the children rather than a political one, as it now appears to be. I very much hope this will come about.

I agree with the remarks made by my colleague from Sinn Féin on the IMF report, which is from where many of the difficulties that have arisen are coming, including the removal of special needs assistants, the closure of hospital wards and so on. All of this penury and misery comes from the IMF, which has now acknowledged that those of us on the left were right when we said that austerity coupled with tax and cuts would drive us into recession. We have been the good citizens of Europe and have been punished for it. It is harrowing to think of the whole of democracy in Greece starving because of this. There has been much talk of the visit of the slave master from Germany to Greece to see how people, while starving, are progressing, which is a reproach to all of us. The principle enunciated by Emily Logan in regard to the children hangs over this. They put the preservation of the system above the welfare of the citizen, which is always wrong. The welfare of the people in a democracy must always come first.