Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. It has been hard for everyone, especially survivors. This seems to be going on and on and I have said it to the Department. Timing is crucial now. The survivors are not getting any younger. We as a committee have a duty of care. It is important we get this through as soon as possible and that there is a balance that survivors are happy with.

We spoke about enhanced medical cards. Ms O'Kennedy, who is only the second Mary Lou I know, spoke in her opening statement about having interviewed 561 survivors, for whom the enhanced medical card is a big issue. We need to make sure we work on this. Clarification of it is so important. What stood out for me in Ms O'Kennedy's opening statement was the reference to the primary harm of the loss of the mother-child bond. As a mother, I see where that statement is coming from. The witnesses will have heard all the stories, as we as a committee have, from the survivors, and we are all heartbroken. If Ms O'Kennedy had to pick two or three key messages or issues the Department should look at, what would they be?

We spoke about counselling for survivors but also I spoke about counselling for family members, and it is in Ms O'Kennedy's report. That will be important and we need to address it. I have gone through what Ms O'Kennedy wrote from her report and her work has been excellent. She spoke about survivors wanting assistance from an advocate or social worker, and these are things that should be developed. The Department said to us today it is an €800 million funding scheme. We have to make sure the scheme is there for survivors and families that have been really affected. Will Ms O'Kennedy come back to me on those?

Dr. O'Byrne, in her opening statement, stated that mother and baby homes have been "a profoundly harmful experience for many women ... Indeed, we cannot separate maternal experiences from babies’ experiences, given how important and intertwined the relationships are". That is so important. We can never make anything right but we can try. Dr. O'Byrne went on to say, "This Bill offers the potential to be a moment of repair in the lives of generations of families who were and continue to be impacted by the mother and baby homes."

This is very important. I thank the witnesses for their excellent work. This has been very touching for us. We know that what is in this is important and we need to do our best to see what we can do.