SEANAD:JOE O'TOOLE (Ind) said he honestly believed there was no political will to save or protect children in this country.
There had been a lot of debate on the outcome of the Roscommon incest case and related matters.
“I find that I can no longer stomach the craw-thumping, puke-inducing hypocrisy of commentators shedding crocodile tears for children who suffer from abuse and neglect, trying to blame the HSE and everybody else along the way.”
Mr O’Toole said during his 22 years in the House he had constantly raised issues ranging from the Stay Safe programme to mandatory reporting. Every time he and others had moved on such matters they had been hammered.
Mary White (FF) said she did not believe HSE personnel should be involved in the investigation into the handling of the Roscommon case. She wanted to know why it would take six months to complete.
Lisa McDonald (FF) said we were in the dark ages when it came to legislation dealing with the needs of children. She did not know what Oireachtas members and others had been doing over the last 20 or 30 years.
Stressing the need for a reasoned debate, Ronan Mullen (Ind) said what they should be doing was asking how they could address the needs of children who might or might not be subject to the possibility of abuse.
“If we need a constitutional referendum, fine. It’s far more likely that what we need is a bit of tweaking legislation, and we need the existing law to be applied by the HSE and others.”
David Norris (Ind) said he had been disgusted by comments made during debates on proposed civil partnership legislation that gay couples were not fit to raise children.
“Would these Roscommon children not have been better raised by a loving couple who happened to be of the same sex, than exposed to the family which is protected idolatrously despite the damage it does?”