Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Citizens have been confronted in recent years with one revelation after another regarding the abuse of people in religious-run institutions that were supported by this State. The scale of the abuse perpetrated against Irish women and children that has been exposed by these cases is absolutely horrific. In order to get to the truth of these scandals, it was necessary to have the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, generally known as the Ryan commission, whose report was published in 2009, the Ferns inquiry, the Cloyne report and the Murphy report. We also had the scandal of the Magdalen laundries. The State is still failing to face up to its responsibilities in regard to the Bethany Home or to apologise to its victims. If we were to have adopted the approach the Government is now advocating in regard to the Tuam babies scandal, the various inquiries and reports to which I referred would not have seen the light of day. Is it not crystal clear, therefore, that a full public inquiry is the only conceivable course of action when confronted with the gravity of the scandal that has now come to light in Tuam?

See this speech in context