Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the statement of Councillor Mary Linehan Foley, Mayor of Cork. I wish to quote from the statement she issued last week.

As many will be aware, I am the child of a mother and baby home. I was born in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home. This is a fact I never shied away from. I have come to know my birth mother and consider myself to be very fortunate. But I know there are many who have not been so fortunate.

She goes on to say:

It’s almost a contradiction for me to issue an apology on behalf of an organisation that I was myself a survivor of; and now a member of. But I want all survivors to know that I mean this truly and sincerely. I know that while these actions took place in the not too distant past, as a society we have transformed entirely. But we must never forget the part we played in this painful past, never forget what happened and ensure it never happens again.

I want to acknowledge her words because it is important to listen to somebody who is a public representative who was born in a home. She wants a process and wants us to move on, but the process must be a robust one. That is the reason we are here today.

My first question for the Minister is a technical one. Are the minutes of the collaborative forum recorded? "Yes" or "No".