Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I extend best wishes to the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, in his new portfolio. Through his experience in the Department of Health, he had considerable involvement in issues pertaining to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and, as such, he will be in a position to hit the ground running. He has moved to an important Department and I wish him well in his new role.

I commend Deputy Anne Ferris on her contribution and the dignity and articulacy with which she recounted her personal story. I have no doubt that in doing so, she will provide strength and support to many others who have experienced similar circumstances. She showed great strength today and on previous occasions that she spoke about this issue.

I welcome the establishment of the commission of investigation and extend good wishes to its chairperson, Judge Yvonne Murphy, in her role. The terms of reference of the commission of investigation must be published promptly. They must be comprehensive and cover all the issues pertaining to the mother and child homes. We must ensure light is shone on what occurred in these homes, the circumstances in which many people came to be in them and how the mothers and children in them were treated. The commission of investigation must assess the impact confinement in these homes had on the lives of those concerned. The State must acknowledge this and support the survivors as they continue their lives.

Coming from a Border constituency, I particularly want to emphasise the importance of ensuring that the experience of many mothers and children from the Republic, who were resident in mother and child homes in Northern Ireland, will be included in the investigation's terms of reference. In many cases there were referrals from mother and child homes in County Donegal to such homes in the North of Ireland. Many children were brought up and spent much of their early lives, until their teenage years, in such homes. I realise that there is a difficulty with cross-jurisdictional issues, but it is important that they too should have a light shone on their experience. They were born in the Republic, yet were referred to homes outside the State. Although it may be more difficult to do so, it is important to ensure that equal attention is paid to their experiences through this inquiry.

As regards the State's experience of these homes and their role, it is easy at this remove to look back and abhor many of the practices that may have taken place at the time. We should acknowledge, however, that society turned a blind eye, tolerating and going along with the system. While this commission of inquiry has been established to assess what happened and how we failed people, we should also examine any current situations where we may be standing over practices which, in 20 or 30 years' time, may not be looked upon kindly. We should bear in mind how we treat those applying for asylum and ensure they receive the human dignity and respect they merit. Unfortunately, however, many of those who went through the mother and baby homes were not afforded the dignity they deserved.

Earlier in the debate, Deputy Clare Daly referred to the importance of identity, background and knowing where one comes from. Having a sense of belonging is so important. Given the past experience of adoptions, a current issue which merits a policy assessment is that of sperm donation. In 20 or 30 years' time, citizens of this country who may have been conceived through sperm donation will be unable to trace their parents, unless the current policy is altered. We should re-assess that policy now in order to ensure that situation does not arise in 20, 30, 40 or 50 years' time. We must look to the future and ensure the we value the right of citizens to know such details.

I wish the Minister well with this matter and I urge him to publish the terms of reference as soon as possible.

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