David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator O'Donovan that this country is smothering in bureaucracy, for example, the HSE looking for tax clearance certificates from small farmers and so on, but what about us? I am nearly 30 years in this House. For the majority of that time, we did not have to fob in, produce receipts for this, that and the other or keep them for six years and employ public accountants, whatever those are. We are being treated like schoolchildren. I was elected in a constituency of 65,000 voters. They trusted me. I do not give a damn whether the rest of the people trust me. I hope they do and have every reason to. Before my illness, I was in this building every single day of the week. I campaigned to have it opened on Saturdays, so it closed down on Saturdays because I was just about the only person who used it. I find it grossly insulting that we have to fob in. The people are the deciding element in this. They will know when Members are not representing them, are not working or are passengers, and they will get rid of them.

I will raise a further matter. I have received a communication from Fr. Shay Cullen, who is well known to many Senators and has worked in the Philippines for many years and has been an heroic Christian. He sent an e-mail that I am sure other Senators also received concerning the recent visit of the Pope. The Pope is a remarkable man who wanted to meet the poorest of the poor, the street children and so on, but the authorities in the Philippines took them all off in a bus for a seven-day holiday to get them out of the way. The Pope never actually saw them. Fr. Cullen made the point that street children in the Philippines are routinely jailed, where they were subject to sexual assault by older boys, jailers and so on. There are examples of eight year old children being forced to perform sex acts on older boys. The Philippines Government stated that Fr. Cullen was seeking publicity just to get donations, which was a scandalous claim to make about someone who has spent 30 or 40 years working there. I wish to put on record the fact that the Pope was denied the opportunity to meet these people. We should keep an eye on the situation.