Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is one of the most important issues with which this Dáil must deal. Members must get it right but they also must get it done. They must be sensitive and respectful and must ensure international best practice guides the investigation. It is imperative that survivors are provided with legal advocacy representation and all documentation and evidence that currently is at risk of destruction must be secured with urgency by the commission. The State should apologise. There should be an official memorial and a framework for effective redress and survivors, their next of kin and advocates should be directly involved in this process at all stages. The final report's findings must be published.

These critical matters require urgent clarification from the Minister and the Government. Full cross-party support exists and no obstacle should stand in the way of allowing the commission of investigation to get under way with the critical task of fully uncovering the truth and establishing the evidence of how the State failed in its duty of care to protect its most vulnerable and defenceless citizens, which now must be faced up to and justice served. This commission of investigation must command the full confidence of the survivors of these institutions, as well as the affected families and next-of-kin.

By extension, it will only be able to command full public confidence when this has been achieved.

All Members of the Oireachtas should lay aside partisan interests and co-operate on what must be our common objectives in this process, namely, providing truth, justice, support and healing for the victims and survivors and ensuring lessons are learned and sufficient preventative measures are in place to protect similarly vulnerable people now and in future. Only when these criteria have been satisfied will we be able to finally and collectively close this chapter of Irish history. The urgency of getting this process right cannot be overstated. We do not want to find ourselves having to repeat the process in future, either because a deserving group of victims or survivors was left out or a relevant issue or factor was excluded from the terms of reference for the sake of temporary expediency or to shield a culpable individual or group.

The State has been repeatedly criticised at home and by the United Nations for its failure to date to conduct effective and timely investigations that fully comply with international human rights standards and provide adequate redress for victims, as was the case with the McAleese inquiry. Let us, therefore, come together to agree a process over which all concerned can stand with pride and on the basis that justice was ultimately and unquestionably served, despite being unreasonably delayed for decades.

This issue also has cross-Border and international dimensions, which must be taken into account in setting the terms of reference and making appointments to the commission. The purpose of the investigation should be to recover and establish the truth, identify any violations of the rights of citizens and their causes, locate responsibility and propose effective remedies. In particular, it should identify if there are persons, institutions, corporations or State agencies who were culpable in any violations and make recommendations to hold them to account, as appropriate. It must examine and establish how this interlocking institutional system developed and was maintained for so long. It must be in a position to establish whether institutional or State failings in this regard were systemic. However, the underlying purpose of this investigation must be to restore dignity to the victims and survivors and acknowledge their existence, experiences, importance and place within the Irish national family.

Sinn Féin has concerns about the appointment by the Minister of Judge Yvonne Murphy to chair the commission of investigation. Judge Murphy was also appointed by the Minister when he was Minister for Health to report on symphysiotomy and produced a report that failed to provide a means to achieve truth and justice for the victims of that barbaric practice. Given the concerns raised by several United Nations bodies regarding State failures to properly investigate and provide effective remedies in compliance with its international treaty obligations in the case of the survivors of the Magdalen laundries and in light of the international dimensions of the issues that will come before it, the commission of investigation should be led by an international judicial figure with relevant expertise. If more than one member is to be appointed, as I hope will be the case, at least one member should be an international judicial figure or other expert in international human rights law.

The commission of investigation must have full compellability powers in respect of testimonial and documentary evidence and sufficient powers to make findings of fact, conclusions and recommendations. It must also have the power to recommend further public inquiry and should have the additional power to recommend further criminal investigation and-or civil action. Only if the establishment order can specify these requirements within the terms of the 2004 Act should this legislation be used. The terms of reference should include but not be limited to all mother and baby homes regardless of denomination, including the Bethany Home and other Protestant run institutions, the Magdalen laundries and the county homes.

We propose modifying the terms of reference of the commission of investigation to include "children born out of wedlock and their mothers" to ensure that issues related to the women concerned are fully included. Ideally, the commission of investigation should be able to use its discretion to examine any and all relevant aspects of maternity and child welfare since the foundation of the State. The terms of reference should also clearly direct the commission of investigation to investigate the responsibility and involvement of the State, including but not limited to local authorities, the Departments of Health, Education and Skills, Justice and Equality, Foreign Affairs and Trade and other public bodies such as the Adoption Board, Adoption Authority of Ireland, religious orders, adoption agencies, academic institutions and medical professional bodies, including any relevant financial transactions completed by these bodies and institutions.

In this context, special attention should be paid to the State's regulation and inspection regimes and its statutory responsibilities towards citizens, including under the relevant employment, adoption, child protection and criminal laws and procedures and law regarding burials and exhumations. It must also consider the State's responsibilities towards its citizens under international law. Furthermore, any financial benefit flowing from associated institutional practices and the beneficiaries therefrom should be identified. Particular attention should be paid to the role of the State in funding or contracting for services from the institutions in question.

The terms of reference must take account of the cross-Border and international dimensions, including the cross-Border movement of pregnant women and children and inter-state movement of the babies and children born to these women to Britain, the United States and elsewhere for the purposes of adoption or labour. They should permit the commission of investigation to establish the numbers involved, what happened to the citizens in question, which institutions and individuals were responsible and the legislative basis on which people were moved. They should also include a methodology for co-operation on these aspects of the investigation between the commission of investigation, the historical abuse inquiry in the North and appropriate authorities in other jurisdictions.

The commission of investigation must be survivor centred. Full inclusion of survivors and their next-of-kin and representative and advocacy groups must be central to the inquiry at all stages of the process. We note and welcome that the Minister has made a positive start in this regard.

All who went through these institutions deserve a fitting public tribute. Provision must also be made for official mourning and commemoration of those who died in these institutions. This must specifically include the right to a name and dignified burial for those who were buried anonymously and in mass graves. Consideration should be given to establishing a national monument and local monuments and museum sites to provide for commemoration and education for this and future generations. Survivors, their families and next-of-kin and their representatives and advocates must be fully included in all stages of the process of planning for this.

Given the age profile of the survivors, a timely and full public State apology is of the utmost importance. It is not necessary to wait for the outcome of the commission of investigation's final report before doing so. Sinn Féin urges the Minister to take the opportunity presented by this debate to issue an apology.

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