Today is not a day for politics. It is not a day for point scoring or trying to win an argument; it is a day for listening, humility and acknowledging the profound suffering endured by those who were failed by the people and institutions that should have protected them. To every survivor who found the courage to come forward, we believe you, we hear you and we are deeply sorry for the vile crimes you endured at the hands of the paedophile Bill Kenneally and for the length of time it took us all entrusted with public office to see your truth vindicated. Nothing said in this Chamber today can undo what happened. No speech can restore a stolen childhood. No apology can erase decades of pain, fear, shame or silence but we still owe that apology because for far too long, the voices of victims were ignored while the reputation of the institutions mattered more than the protection of the children. The south east independent commission of investigation paints a deeply disturbing picture. It describes a predatory offender who abused children over many years. It tells us that warning signs, suspicions and opportunities existed to stop that abuse much earlier. It also shows us that while the standards and understanding of child protection in the 1970s and 1980s were very different from today, they were still serious failures of judgment and failures to act, even by the standards of that time. For many years, children carried burdens that adults should have carried for them. Children were expected to speak when they were frightened. They were expected to overcome shame that has been deliberately forced upon them. Children were expected to carry secrets that no child should ever have to carry. When some did try to speak, too often they found adults who were unwilling or unable to hear them. That is one of the hardest truths contained in this report. As parents and grandparents, as public representatives and simply as decent human beings, we cannot read these accounts without asking ourselves one question: what if it had been our own son, our own brother, our own grandson? That is the measure by which we should judge every child’s protection system. The report also reminds us of something uncomfortable - evil rarely succeeds on its own. It succeeds where there is silence and hesitation, where difficult questions are avoided, and where institutions become more concerned with protecting themselves than protecting vulnerable people. That lesson extends far beyond Waterford. It belongs to the whole country. Ireland has learned painful lessons through commission after commission. We have apologised before. We have promised reform before. Some important changes have undoubtedly been made - child protection laws are stronger, Garda procedures have improved and awareness is far greater than it once was - but today’s report reminds us that reform is never finished. The challenge for every generation is to make sure that children are never expected to carry the consequences of adult failures. That means ensuring that agencies work together, concerns are acted upon quickly and a child is never dismissed because the evidence is difficult or uncomfortable, and understanding that every delay, missed opportunity and failure to communicate can have lifelong consequences for an innocent child. I also want to acknowledge the extraordinary courage shown by the survivors throughout this process. Some are here in the Gallery. Many carried these experiences for decades. Many built lives while carrying wounds that nobody else could see. Many came forward not because it was easy but because they wanted to make sure that no other child would suffer what they suffered. That courage deserves not only our respect but our gratitude. To the families who stood beside them through years of trauma, uncertainty and legal proceedings, we acknowledge your strengths, too. I have to say this, though – an apology only has meaning if it is accompanied by action. The greatest tribute we can pay to those who suffered is not another headline or another report gathering dust on a shelf. It is ensuring that every recommendation is examined carefully, implemented where appropriate and followed through in practice.

Sentiment score: -0.16