Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister knows this and the evidence is there; it has been presented to the Government. I call on the Minister in a spirit of justice for these survivors to quickly address the issue, to recognise their experience, having viewed the evidence, to acknowledge it, to apologise on behalf of the State for it and to allow them access to a redress scheme.

The Minister will also be aware of my final point. As it happens, the Bethany Home in Rathgar catered, for the most part, for children from the Protestant tradition. There is a deep hurt among survivors because they believe that they have been ignored by the State. This is doubly the case because they believe in some measure that they have been set aside because they came from a minority faith. It is essential that we do the right thing for these survivors, that we recognise their experience and put to rest any concern they may have that whatever about the old Ireland, in the new Ireland there is any form of discrimination against any citizen on the basis of religious beliefs.

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