Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join those who welcome the findings of the European Court of Human Rights yesterday in the O'Keeffe case. The protection of children must always be prioritised. We should recognise that the State has rightly been very critical of failures in the church organisations and various other bodies to protect children, but often it is quite sanguine about its own responsibilities in this regard. This will now have to be faced up to. Those responsible within the public service should equally be held to ridicule for their failures in this regard.

Does the Leader agree with me in commending the Committee of Public Accounts on its very wise decision yesterday? It decided, as was its right, to continue to hear in private - this is the correct format - the evidence of a Garda sergeant on losses of revenue. It is correct to confine its proceedings to this. These matters have shone a light on the modus operandi of the Government and its interaction with the Parliament and its committees. While I commend the Minister on his initiative, I believe he would have to admit he took the decision to refer the matter to the Garda Ombudsman rather belatedly.

The Leader will certainly agree with me that any inhouse inquiry of this nature is very much facilitated and enhanced by virtue of having an independently produced report available to those involved. The Leader, other Senators and I sat for a number of years hearing witnesses in inquiries that had been carried out by Mr. Justice Barron on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and various other atrocities committed in the State with British collusion. We found that to be a very good format. Having the report enabled the committee to be incisive in the manner in which it conducted its inquiries. It helped immeasurably.

The Committee of Public Accounts, which does great work, does not have any representation from the Seanad.