Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I sincerely apologise to all of the delegates for missing the debate. I am normally a full-time attendee of the committee, but, unfortunately, something came up to which I had to attend and I was delayed as a result. I have, however, read most of the statements received.

Since the committee started to debate this issue, we have heard from a wide spectrum of people. What comes to mind constantly is something my mother always used to say, “You can only have one mother.” It is not really true; one can have more than one mother. People who were adopted but did not realise it until years later discovered that they had two mothers: the person who had given birth to them and the person who had reared them. Sadly, for many people I know, the connection with their birth mothers has been very difficult and, sometimes, non-existent. Many people who were adopted, for whatever reason, ended up in very loving homes. However, those whose babies were taken from them, in whatever circumstances, have suffered the greatest loss. I apologise particularly to the women who have given their personal stories. Things that happen in this place do not always fit into the agenda.