Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The publication of Senator Martin McAleese's seminal report on the Magdalen laundries brought to the fore the grim chronicle of abuse that scarred this country in the past. The recognition of the truth and steps towards meaningful redress have marked a path towards bringing a measure of justice for those women. A dark chapter in the State's history is finally closing. The victims of the Bethany Home have not had such a sense of closure or the succour of justice. Today's motion is a welcome move towards addressing that gaping chasm in the lives of survivors.

There is something poignant and deeply tragic about the searing image of 40 unmarked graves in Mount Jerome graveyard. They are the physical testimony to the institutional system for so called fallen women, an attitude that crisscrossed between the Catholic and Protestant religions. The insensitivity and lack of compassion in the system belies its religious foundation. The dearth of human kindness that seems to have defined these institutions despite their ostensible religious motivation is one of the most disturbing aspects of the institutions. For the children of Bethany Home their suffering demands redress.

It is important to acknowledge the Ireland from which these residential homes emerged. The dire poverty of early 20th century Ireland ranked among the worst in the Western world. The infant mortality rate soared above that of Calcutta while swathes of the population dwelled in derelict tenement slums. Out of these desperate circumstances residential institutions emerged to fill the widening vacuum caused when families were unable or unwilling to care for children. The State had an obligation to effectively supervise these homes but failed to do so. The grim chronicle of child mortality at the home exposes a dark place in the Bethany Home which operated from 1922 to 1972, ultimately settling in Rathgar. It underlines the kind of atmosphere in which women and their newborns lived. A total of 219 Bethany graves in Mount Jerome were discovered for the period 1922 to 1949. Records reveal that 54 of the children had died from convulsions, 41 from heart failure and 26 from marasmus, a form of malnutrition. As many as 86 deaths, or well over one third of Bethany's 219 child deaths in the 28 years between 1922 and 1949, occurred in one five-year period, from 1935 to 1939. Almost two thirds, or 132 children, died in the ten-year period from 1935 to 1944. There is something deeply disturbing about the numbers, even in the context of the standards of the time.

The Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 specified named institutions and section 4 of the Act allowed for the inclusion in the scheme of certain categories of institution by ministerial order. The legislation provided the Minister could broaden the remit of the original Act to encompass the Bethany Home survivors. The work uncovered by the Bethany survivors organisation demands at least a debate on the issue and a meaningful engagement by the current Administration. The previous Government decided against including Bethany Home in a limited definition of mother and baby homes. Subsequent evidence and action on Magdalen laundries deserves a meaningful discussion in the Oireachtas. The State's obligations under the Maternity Act 1934 demand to be fully addressed.

Survivors are of the view that the exclusion of Bethany Home represents sectarian discrimination against the Protestant minority. It is difficult to see how churches of all religious shades that have failed so acutely in their responsibilities should be treated differently in compensating for those failings. Suffering knew no boundary in religious belief.

In contrast, the actions taken to address the Magdalen laundries have, after some prevarication, been far stronger. The report of Senator Martin McAleese was initiated in June 2011 and charts the grim details of the experiences of at least 10,000, but up to 12,000, women in the ten Magdalen laundries operated by four religious orders across Ireland from 1922 to 1996. The inhumane conditions of work, the de facto slave labour status of the women and the gross unfairness of the indefinite incarceration in the laundries mark a grave breach of the human rights and dignity of the women involved. The evidence definitively reveals that the Irish State colluded in the operation of the laundries as the justice system sent women into them and State agencies such as hospitals employed the services of these laundries.

The courts system sent women into the laundries. Some 26% of entries were by way of the State system while the Garda Síochána returned runaways from the institutions. The system was evidently not a voluntary mechanism. The State failed the women by failing to implement effective supervision of the laundries, by failing to uphold its own health and safety standards and by failing to provide for the education and social welfare rights of the women.

The story of Bethany Home is far smaller in scale and size but no less profound for the survivors, of whom there are 25 to 30. A small but determined band of people are committed to securing justice for what happened in that place. As a country we have taken meaningful efforts to confront the bleak reality of the past on this island. The grave failures of responsibility by the State and the heinous crimes committed by rogue agents of institutions that commanded public respect have been systematically uncovered and steps taken to address them. The previously hidden and unspoken histories have justifiably emerged from the void of silence. As legislators we are obliged to right old wrongs and move beyond them to ensure such travesties of justice never occur again. The saga of Bethany Home is another such challenge.

The Government amendment sweeps around the issue but it hits upon the importance of revealing the truth behind what happened in Bethany Home. Full access to the file is an important step towards capturing, understanding and addressing the legacy of Bethany Home. Full access to the personal records of each individual is an intrinsic right for each survivor and should be immediately addressed.

Tonight's motion is a welcome discussion on a sensitive and demanding topic. This small group of survivors who have grappled their entire lives with the grim legacy of the Bethany Home deserve our attention. More than that, they are entitled to our support. I hope the Government judges the motion on its merits so that we can take action in providing a meaningful solution for the survivors.

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