Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important that the inquiry be inclusive. It is also important that the stakeholders - the women who lived in thee institutions and the survivors - have their voices heard. It is important that the inquiry be issue based. We are not talking only about a set number of institutions commonly known as mother and baby homes. The malnutrition, abuse, neglect, forced adoptions, illegal adoptions and high mortality rates also happened in many other institutions in which the State and religious entities were involved. Therefore, we need to get the inquiry right. The Minister came here to seek our support for this subhead and the Supplementary Estimates and he has it. However, I ask him to, please, ensure he sets out terms of reference for an inclusive inquiry which will ensure he will have cross-party support. He has mentioned that he hopes the draft terms of references will be published prior to Christmas. Will there be an opportunity, either on the floor of the Dáil or at committee level, to discuss them? Will there be an opportunity for all political parties to feed into them? Will there be an opportunity for interested groups - the stakeholders - to feed into them before the final terms of reference are published?