Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I did not intend speaking on this but following communication from survivors, I wanted to put my own view on record. The Minister acknowledged that 75 years is a lengthy period of time. It is a long time. We have collectively acknowledged that those records should not be destroyed. There is agreement on that. I note the previous suggestion of colleagues that we should try to move towards some form of consensus because I think that might be possible. In the period between now and Committee Stage, the wise thing to do might be to engage with survivors' groups because the survivors are concerned that this is an attempt by the State to cover up. We should bear in mind that these people bear the scars of repeated cover-ups by the State and those who ran the institutions in which these people lived. These people lack trust and for good reason. This is nothing to do with any individual in this House. History shows these people that where it is possible to cover up, a cover-up can and will happen. We must remember that what is contained in these records are deeply personal stories of hurt, abuse and people who were treated horrendously at the hands of the men and women running these institutions. While they may not be able to talk to their families about it while they are alive, they want their stories be available so that their families can understand what they went through. There is a value in us having those stories to refer to. It is really important that we never forget what happened and that those records would be available in a format that is sensitive to the needs to the survivors, be it in an anonymised or redacted format however that can be achieved.

The Sinn Féin position is clear. We will not oppose this legislation going on to Committee Stage but it is our intention to table amendments and to engage on Committee Stage. I urge the Minister to engage with the survivors' groups in the intervening period between now and Committee Stage. I understand the Department does this in any event. I also urge the Minister to examine what can be done. He has heard the concerns of the people here this evening. I ask him to examine what can be done for the survivors. Some of them have taken to the media but the vast majority could never do this. They are at home, they are worried and they believe they will be white washed out of history again. That is a genuine concern so I urge the Minister to use the time between now and Committee Stage to engage with survivors and look proactively at what options can be explored in terms of making this information available and ensuring people's stories are not hidden or covered up, which neither the Minister nor anyone here wants to do.

There must be a way to handle this sensitively. Not everyone will want his or her story to be available and I know there are challenges in anonymisation because even with an anonymous account it might still be possible to identify the person. There are mixed views, as the Minister himself said, but 75 years is a very long time for this to take.

As I said, Sinn Féin will not oppose the legislation proceeding to Committee Stage, but we are hopeful that when it gets to Committee Stage the Minister will have had an opportunity to engage with the survivors and to come back with proposals that sensitively and respectfully acknowledge what the survivors themselves want because they must be central to this process.

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