Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

Those Members who read the Irish Examiner yesterday will be aware that at the march of solidarity to Dáil Éireann on Wednesday boy No. 117 met boy No. 146. They had not seen each other for 40 years and they recalled their memories of St. Joseph's Industrial School, Salthill, County Galway. I read the moving report of that meeting by the journalist, Caroline O'Doherty, yesterday and thank her for writing about this encounter because I know survivor No. 117 who lives in my constituency and is now 59 years of age.

In their exchange of memories boy No. 117 said he remembered when boy No. 146 took his last bit of bread. Boy No. 146 told boy No. 117 that he remembered him having got such a beating from the Brothers he thought he was dead. Sadly, after 40 years these two men do not feel comfortable in making their identities public. Boy No. 117, as he says himself, was born out of wedlock. He had been cared for in a loving environment in Drogheda by the nuns as a tiny child but was treated brutally and savagely when he went to Salthill. When he left that institution at the age of 15 he inquired about his mother and was told by the Christian Brother, "You are a bastard. Your mother does not want you". Those words still affect him psychologically. He did meet his mother and he was rejected as he refused to go to London with her. He was placed in a psychiatric hospital. He went on, at the age of 17, to work on a farm at Roscrea College where his life, as he said, turned for the better. He said that his crucifixion had ended but he has suffered ever since.

I join with Deputy Bertie Ahern, the Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, and all Members in apologising to boy No. 117 and all the children who were horrifically abused in this State during the dreadful dark period of our history covered by this report.

The report highlights societal attitudes of the time towards illegitimate children and single mothers. Illegitimate children were not to be spoken of but hidden away. I feel a sense of shame, having lived through that period as a young boy. That so-called Christian Brother who told boy No. 117 that he was a bastard has sullied the name of many good men and women of the Church whom I have met and known in my lifetime, especially the many selfless missionaries I came to know in Africa and elsewhere overseas during my time as Minister with responsibility for overseas development aid.

This is an historic debate. We must hope this report puts an end, once and for all, to that era of denial where blind loyalty to the Church superseded everything else, even the infliction of pain and suffering on vulnerable children. We must kill off forever a view that even suggested these were events of their time. Out of respect for all of those who suffered in these institutions, we must ensure we will never again turn a blind eye to the abuse and suffering of children whether it happens here or anywhere throughout the world.

We must create structures that will provide a safe environment and systems of care for our children and allow and encourage people in authority, at whatever level, to speak out if there is a threat to the safety and well-being of those under their care. The children in these institutions had nowhere to turn when they were abused. They had no parents to which they could turn. They were truly alone.

It is clear from this debate, and we have had an honest conversation in this Chamber, which I listened to throughout the day yesterday, that there is no doubt about our determination and ability to monitor abuse and negligence in our institutions in the future. There is no doubt about our ability to legislate and regulate to ensure there is accountability to the Oireachtas. The people on the streets have spoken, and in this Chamber the Parliament has responded with a comprehensive agreed motion.

Society is now prepared to believe what we are being told. The Ryan report allows us to take collective ownership of this history, yet society is constructed in such a way that money seems to be the only way to acknowledge people's hurt and pain. We must examine broader societal issues in the course of this debate, something we might do in the months ahead.

It was the society of the time that sent young women to Magdalene laundries and other institutions. We now must implement, with a sense of determination and urgency, the recommendations of this commission, which are comprehensive. We must deal with the genuine concerns of the victims regarding the redress board. My constituent, boy No. 117, felt he was still being treated as a number when he engaged with the redress board. I share the views of Deputy Burton and other colleagues on the gagging order.

We must deal with the issue of repatriation. Many of the abused fled the country for fear they would ever meet their abusers on the street. We should establish an annual day of remembrance and atonement, with events organised throughout the country from Artane to Salthill and from Tralee to Letterfrack. We need to revisit those locations to celebrate the fact that these victims have survived the pain and to commit ourselves to not letting it happen again. My hope is that in Salthill we could shout out from the rooftops the names of boy No. 117 and boy No. 146.

I thank Mr. Justice Ryan and his predecessor, Ms Justice Laffoy, the members of the commission and their staff for their work. We must now get on with implementing the recommendations while continuing to engage with the people and the organisations. I refer to people like Christine Buckley and others who marched and spoke with such dignity outside Dáil Éireann on Wednesday. We owe it to them to do everything possible to protect our children, not just here in Ireland but throughout the world.

I am a former Minister with responsibility for overseas development aid. We have an Irish Aid budget which is rightly supportive of organisations dealing with child protection, child labour and child prostitution internationally. It would be fitting if a section of that aid budget dealing with the protection of children and their human rights abroad would be dedicated to the memory of those children who suffered here in our institutions over such a long period of time.

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