Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the Leader organise a debate on the seven reports published yesterday by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland? The debate should focus not just on reporting mechanisms in the past and the severe failures among religious orders and dioceses in that regard, but how they treat survivors of abuse now. They are survivors, as many people, because of the abuse they suffered and the cover-ups by the religious orders involved, took their own lives.

I would also like to have a debate on the report on the Christian Brothers and their current attitude towards survivors of abuse. They are continuing to abuse survivors. The way they treat them in the legal system is nothing short of abuse. Last month, there was a case in which the Christian Brothers admitted 450 different counts of abuse. They employed two senior counsels and two junior counsels and dragged the survivor in question through the High Court for four days, not contesting that abuse took place but fighting the amount of compensation the victim would get. Not only did they do this, but they also employed one of the most reputable - if one could use that word in this case - but notorious criminal lawyers in the State, who defends murderers, rapists and drug dealers.