Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the same subject. I ask that the Minister be requested to come to the House as soon as possible to discuss the report of the special rapporteur on child protection. The horrific findings of this report should not be a surprise because children across the State continue to be neglected and abused in their own homes. The perpetrators of these crimes and this awfulness in many instances are the parents of the children but the State has a responsibility to protect the children, including under the Constitution, which provides for the State to cherish all our children.

Many crocodile tears have been shed about how children were treated in the past, yet this abuse continues. The number of social workers needed to keep children safe is wholly inadequate and it has been for many years under successive Governments. Children going home from school today are afraid of the abuse and the neglect they will face but nobody will come to help. Their neighbours and relatives call social services and wait for a social worker who never comes. The Minister needs to come to the House to outline what plans she is putting in place. Urgency is needed in this regard because an hour or a day in the life of a child who is going through torture and abuse is a long time. Last night's "Prime Time" report made clear this abuse is continuing and that is a horrific indictment on us as a State.

I move an amendment to the Order of Business, that Second Stage of No. 9 be taken today or tomorrow. The Bill seeks to help those in financial difficulty by allowing them to access services of the Financial Services Ombudsman even after the six year cut-off point. The longer it takes for this Bill to be enacted, the more suffering will be endured by those in need of solutions. This is an opportunity for the House to prove its worth by facilitating the quick passage of this legislation, which received cross-party support in the Dáil. I hope the Leader can facilitate that.