Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Deputy Micheál Martin. I do not intend to go into detail on the report on the Defence Forces published yesterday but it is harrowing. I thank the brave Women of Honour, who had to go public and tell their stories, which is never an easy thing to do, especially in a military culture such as that of the Defence Forces. I acknowledge the work of my colleague, Senator Clonan. He was brave and courageous against the odds and experienced great difficulties and many setbacks as a result of being brave and telling his story. I also acknowledge the work of Katie Hannon in this regard.

I thank the Leader for arranging two matters relating to the Order of Business. It is great to see that the report on St. John Ambulance Ireland is up for debate. This is another harrowing story of abuse and crime. We should remember that these matters relate to criminal activities and that is how they should ultimately be dealt with. I also thank the Leader for arranging statements on Inland Fisheries Ireland. We will debate that issue at great length but only an hour has been allocated to the statements. I would like flexibility in that regard. I am not sure if it is possible within the scope of the Minister’s availability but if more Senators do not volunteer to speak on it, there may be the possibility of allowing a little more time to contributors. That allocation could be fluid, perhaps, and considered later in the day. It is clear there are big issues relating to Inland Fisheries Ireland. This evening, I intend to touch on some of the protected disclosures, which are a shocking indictment of the system.

I am delighted the Ceann Comhairle will unveil a statue of John Hume. What better place for it? John Hume believed in the difference that could be made. In the context of unity, I hope that in the not-too-distant future we may see a similar bust of David Trimble. He came from the unionist tradition, while John Hume came from the nationalist tradition, but that is the history of this island. The unity of this island can only come about by us coalescing and working together. With that in mind, I would like to have a review of or further debate on the shared island initiative of the Office of the Taoiseach. We should constantly have that issue back for debate in the House to tease out incrementally how it is progressing.