Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his support, not just today, but since his appointment a number of years ago. In particular, I thank him for his preparations for what he knows will be required once the report is published. I thank him for agreeing with our call for publication to happen swiftly.

It is important that the supports he is planning be put in place immediately, but I must be honest with him. This is probably not politically correct of me to say, but I am getting used to challenging some of the agencies of the State at this stage. We seem to have developed a practice of the DPP deciding not to take cases against perpetrators because of their age, health or frailty. That makes me sick to the pit of my stomach. I am not naming names, but we are not just discussing St. John Ambulance. There are many other institutions, agencies and voluntary organisations. We talk about this being a class issue, but class my eye. This permeates every single section of society. It reflects badly on the justice system when it decides not to prosecute someone because of that person's frailty, regardless of whether there was one victim or hundreds.