Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share time with Deputy Mary Lou McDonald. Gabhaim buíochas do Derek Leinster, Patrick McCabe, Niall Meehan agus siúd eile a bhuail liom thar na blianta agus a thug eolas dom faoin scannal seo agus a chur na fíricí os ár gcomhair. Níl a fhios agam an raibh an deis ag an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Perry, nó an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Kathleen Lynch, bualadh leis na daoine seo riamh nó fiú éisteacht a thabhairt don mhéid a bhí le rá acu. B'fhéidir dá mbeadh sé sin déanta go dtuigfeadh na hAirí Stáit go díreach cén fáth go bhfuil sé ceart agus cuí brón a ghabháil leo siúd a bhí i dTeach Bethany agus go bhfuil an méid atá sa rún os ár gcomhair ceart.

Our motion calls on the Government to accept the historic facts. I ask the Minister of State to read Niall Meehan's history of the institution which was published in the 2010 September-October edition of History Ireland. This was a Protestant institution but it was similar to many Catholic institutions. It was a maternity home and a children's home but it was also a place of detention for women on remand or convicted of crime. Not all its inhabitants were Protestant.

The motion calls for a State apology and a redress mechanism. A State apology is appropriate in this instance because of the role this State and its officials played in sustaining the institution that was Bethany Home. A State apology is not given lightly nor should it be but once a case has been proven and a wrong exposed, as in this case, the proper and right course of action is to admit the mistakes of the past.

In 2010 the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, had the courage to apologise to victims who were transported to Australia. He apologised for Britain's role in stealing those children from their families. The extent of that practice only came to light because of the Trojan work of Margaret Humphreys. Ireland, to its shame, has not begun to address the similar situation, the harrowing and brutal episode of our past when children born in Ireland were spirited away by religious orders and others. Bethany Home also played a role in that scandal which remains to be fully uncovered. While some apology has been issued to those wronged in this State in the case of the Magdalen women and those abused by members of the Catholic Church orders, other victims of State indifference or State collusion with institutions still await an apology. We need think only of the victims of the depraved practice of symphysiotomy or the victims of thalidomide. We appeal to the Minister of State for one case and we ask the State to issue an apology to the few survivors of Bethany Home.

I listened last night in amazement to the Minister of State's contribution. I re-read it today to ensure she said what I thought I heard. She was trying to lay the blame on Sinn Féin for stirring up this issue, the righteous call for an apology contained in this motion. She said this is what Sinn Féin does. It is always about the next impossible task. This is not an impossible task nor is the legacy of those stolen children exported like cattle to Britain, Canada, Australia and elsewhere, not only from Bethany Home but also from various Catholic institutions. It is not an impossible task to issue an apology or to look to find out the full history of what happened in Bethany Home. We have taken on much bigger tasks and proved they are not impossible. The will must be there because if the will is not there, it is impossible. I urge the Minister of State to find the will and to look at this task properly. The disgraceful legacy of this State, its institutions and its officials in labelling children as illegitimate or incarcerating their expectant mothers and banishing them from their home towns, fallen women to be ostracised or shunned, is history and I agree it cannot be undone. A mature State acknowledges the mistakes of the past and ensures they will not happen again. It does more than that. It apologises to the victims for the attitudes it perpetuated. It apologises for the resultant abuse and crimes, the exploitation and the mental and physical torture suffered as a consequence of its actions or inactions to uphold the dignity and rights of those citizens of the State who suffered in Bethany Home.

The Government amendment is shameful and seems to seek to exonerate the State from all blame, despite the facts. The Minister of State's response will be remembered as similar to Michael Woods in 2002 who at the last minute did a disgraceful indemnity deal with the Catholic Church orders. The Minister of State said that the inclusion of Bethany Home in the redress scheme was ruled out in May 2007, as the information located indicated it operated as a mother and baby home and therefore not regarded as eligible to be considered. The Minister of State referred to St. Patrick's mother and baby home on the Navan Road. Because it was inspected by State officials it was included in the redress scheme, but I remind him that Bethany Home was also inspected.

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