SEANAD:UNDER CHILDCARE guidelines, the Health Service Executive had an obligation to report any serious instance of alleged child abuse to the Garda, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said.

The Minister noted that Ivana Bacik (Lab) had asked if reports made to the HSE could be regarded as a defence by individuals in terms of a requirement under new legislation to make such reports. Mr Shatter was speaking in the debate on the Bill to criminalise the withholding of information on offences against children and vulnerable persons. The Bill passed second stage unopposed.

The Minister said the suggestion by a senior churchman that there should be a cross-Border inquiry into the Brendan Smyth affair was not being addressed by the Government. He was somewhat puzzled by that call, because what was known about that affair and the failings of the church was known within that church.

There had been a lack of co-ope- ration by the Vatican to produce documents which could be relevant, so he did not see what purpose could be served by the proposed inquiry. He looked forward to the referendum on children’s rights in the autumn, although a final date had not been set.

Calling for a campaign to clean up Dublin’s O’Connell Street, Tom Sheahan (FG) said he had been fearful while walking in the thoroughfare last Wednesday night.

What he had witnessed was absolutely shocking, between drunks, winos, people strung out on drugs and others begging. “And that’s our main street in our capital city. There were guards in the vicinity of O’Connell Street but they were doing nothing about this. You could not travel 20 metres but there was somebody begging for money.” The selling of this street, and Dublin in general, as a tourism product required that it be cleaned up.

Denis O’Donovan (FF) hit out at the “lame duck excuse” by the Pavee Point Travellers’ body in regard to what he described as the absolute madness of recent so-called chariot racing on one of the busiest roads in the country.

The race on the main Mallow-Cork road in the middle of the day had caused mayhem. Pavee Point’s contention that better facilities should be provided for “sulky” racing did not hold water.