Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Leader back to the Chamber as a married man. I wish him and his husband Conchobhar the very best for their future together.

Ireland had, and still has, a lot to be proud of but our past shows there are a lot of shameful chapters about which we should be embarrassed and by which we should be shamed. During public discussion and discourse in recent years, we have heard about the Magdalen laundries, the mother and baby homes and now the Kerry babies' case and the treatment that was meted out to Joanne Hayes. These are all shameful episodes in Irish history.I want to raise another shameful episode that has received public attention in recent times. It relates to a man named Billy Kenneally, a convicted paedophile, in Waterford. The victims are seeking a commission of inquiry to investigate who knew what at the time he, and possibly others, was abusing young children in Waterford. I am raising the issue because it is a serious one. These victims are brave men who revealed their identity in order to raise awareness around the issue and to ensure that we have full transparency, accountability and justice in this particular case of abuse. It is well known that people in authority at the time knew about the abuse and allowed it to continue. People in An Garda Síochána, the clergy and State agencies, as well as in the political system, were aware that this abuser was running rampant in the Waterford area and abusing young children. These brave young men stepped forward when they discovered this paedophile was still a basketball coach. They went public, took on this case and the man was convicted.

These men are fathers of children themselves, as are many of us here, and there is an obligation on us as a society to ensure that there is full justice and transparency around this case. I have spoken to the Minister for Justice and Equality and he has acknowledged the need for a commission of inquiry. He understands the pain and suffering that the victims have endured and he is currently engaged with the Attorney General to find a way forward to ensure that this commission is established. However, I ask the Seanad for its support to ensure that these victims are supported and their stories heard in the full light of day, that there is full transparency and justice, and that the people of authority who knew what was going on are brought before the commission to ensure it never happens again. We all have an obligation in this regard. I support to these brave victims. We must ensure they get the commission of inquiry they so badly want.