Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague, Deputy Flanagan, on his appointment as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, as I have not yet had the opportunity to do so.

I add my voice to the shock and, frankly, the disgust which so many people feel over this discovery. I pay particular tribute to two individuals, local historian Catherine Corless, who has done such assiduous work in uncovering the facts of this horrific case in Tuam, and Alison O'Reilly for her journalistic work and endeavour. Thanks to those two individuals, we know that between 1925 and 1961, the home in Tuam was recorded as the place of death for 796 babies and children, which is a shocking and deeply disturbing discovery. There was no information relating to the burial of these children in any graveyard or cemetery, and one possible explanation for the discrepancy is that the bodies were buried on grounds of the home without any record or documentation.

The lack of a national outcry initially is perhaps, sadly, an indication of the way in which Irish people have been desensitised to this sort of discovery and how the church and State has let down some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We all need to reflect on that, as it is quite sad and shocking. The discovery is a damning indictment of the maternity care provided both by the church and State.

During this period infant mortality was significantly higher than it is today. It was also much higher among so-called illegitimate children than in the rest of society. We need to reflect on that in terms of how we cherish our children equally or otherwise.

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