Our children must be protected

More than one week after the disappearance of 11-year-old Robert Holohan from near his home in Co Cork, hope still springs that he will be returned safely.

It is devoutly wished that he will be returned home safe both for his own sake and for that of his parents, who have endured unimaginable torment.

Apart from the Trojan efforts of the gardaí and the army, the Holohan family have been sustained and comforted in this awful adversity by the overwhelming kindness of hundreds of neighbours and strangers who have helped in the search for young Robert.