Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

In amending the functions of the commission in this legislation, the onus is on us to spell out exactly what they should be. It should inquire into the manner in which children were placed in institutions and the circumstances in which they continued to be resident in those institutions during the relevant period. That would cover a hell of a lot of dirt and pain.

The commission should also investigate any executive arm of Government that was responsible for the placement of children in institutions. I have heard stories of people escaping from institutions, telling the gardaí and the gardaí laughing at them before sending them back. That is no reflection on individual officers but on society at the time. Inspectors would come into the institutions, which would be immaculate, and they would send back glowing reports. The dirt, however, was hidden under the carpet and it re-emerged afterwards. That is what the survivors say.

We must specify in the functions of the commission the need to investigate the circumstances where day students and residential students were placed in institutions, sometimes against their will and the will of their parents or guardians and the role played by officials in the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, the Garda Síochána and judges who had anything to do with placing vulnerable children in places where they were subjected to abuse.

My amendment spells out clearly what we should investigate. In looking at this horrific period, which thankfully appears to be over now, we can sanitise matters, but the Bill should not do that, it should show exactly what happened and what we are investigating. That is why my amendment is as encompassing as possible in examining the roles of the various organs of the State.

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