Minister: We must change society for our children

IRISH society must acknowledge that it needs to address a series of problems as concerning as the clerical abuse scandal before the safety of children in this country can be assured.

Speaking at the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald said a host of less highlighted issues are seriously hampering the well-being of young people in Ireland.

Ms Fitzgerald stressed her revulsion at the widespread abuse of children within the Catholic Church, the latest proof of which was the Cloyne Report her own department published recently.