Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute on this important issue. I would like to acknowledge the hard and persistent work of Ms Catherine Corless, who was determined to get to the bottom of the facts by accessing archived materials in order that the mothers and babies of Tuam could be remembered correctly. Considerable work has also been done by historians in colleges across the country on the history of mother and baby homes not only in Ireland but across Europe. None of this work should be ignored.

This is a sensitive and complex issue and should be discussed in a calm and considered manner. Some of the sensationalist coverage over the past ten days has not helped the people affected by mother and baby homes. It is not for the first time, unfortunately, that we, as Oireachtas Members, and society in general find ourselves discussing the need to investigate an extremely dark period in the history of our State. Recent coverage has reminded us how religious institutions, the State, families and society in general grossly failed these women and their babies since the foundation of the State. Single women who became pregnant were shunned, shamed and stigmatised. It is a fact that society treated them appallingly and the State facilitated this treatment by providing the mother and baby homes. There were homes for "first offenders" - women who were pregnant for the first time. Their babies, if they were lucky enough to survive, were taken from them forcefully or otherwise put up for adoption in Ireland or, worse still, abroad in the UK and the US.

People will be familiar with the film "Philomena", which outlines one person's story of her experience in Roscrea. By the time Philomena Lee secured access to her son's records, he had died and, therefore, she never met him. Ironically, she is one of the lucky ones, as many thousands of mothers still have no access to records of where their daughters or sons are.

Media reports last week that up to 796 babies may have died at the Tuam mother and baby home and been buried in a mass grave reignited a public debate into how mother and baby homes throughout the country were run. We have also read reports published by advocacy groups such as Adoption Rights Now, which highlighted the gross, barbaric and inhumane treatment of women and their children in these institutions. Heavily pregnant women carried out manual labour such as sowing potatoes, and scrubbing concrete floors on their hands and knees with a toothbrush. We learned how women were denied painkillers during birth, as this was seen as a way to atone for giving birth outside marriage, and how babies with disabilities were neglected.

Books have been written and last night RTE reran a documentary that was first aired in 2011 dealing with how innocent babies were used for vaccine trials and, indeed, how in the period 1940-65, 401 infant bodies were used for dissection in the interests of medical research.

Unfortunately, this news is not new. While independent investigation is necessary to establish the true facts of what happened over many decades one thing is patently clear - we as a State failed in our duty to protect these women who only got pregnant but were treated as outcasts by society. I believe the Taoiseach should offer a full apology on behalf of the State.

This is a very complex and multi-layered issue. There has been little debate on the role of the fathers. They were treated very differently by society at the time. There was no requirement in law to put the father's name on the birth certificate. This was totally unfair on the women and the babies. No doubt there are some fathers tonight wondering whether their sons and daughters are alive. The truth is that this was just as much a societal issue of the time.

International media reports over the past week have once again put Ireland in the spotlight for wrong reasons. The eyes of the world are now on Ireland, and how we as a society will deal with this issue will indicate how we should be judged internationally. I initially called for a full independent investigation to ensure that the full facts could be gathered and the truth of how these homes were run would be made known. We owe it to the women and it is the very least they deserve. I welcome the establishment of the independent inquiry but I note that the Government intends to complete the scoping exercise that was commenced last week by the cross-departmental group set up by the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan. This is expected to be completed by the end of June, after which there will be discussions on the scope, format and terms of reference of the commission of investigation.

We must establish the truth based on the facts. The last thing the women need or deserve is the sensationalising of what they have already lived through at the hands of their families, society, the State and religious institutions. These women have been wronged and they must have full confidence that if they wish to come forward, they can be assured of compassion, sensitivity and confidentiality and that nobody will be judging them. All of this coverage is undoubtedly reigniting feelings which may have been suppressed. I ask that a helpline be set up for persons who have queries. Counselling services should also be made available to those who require them.

I welcome the cross-party approach of the Minister. This is, after all, above party politics. I welcome that Archbishop Martin and other bishops have come forward in support of this investigation and I hope all the religious will support it. The investigation must examine all elements of what took place in these institutions and how we as a society allowed it to take place. The following issues must be examined: the unexplained high mortality rates, which were 40% to 50% higher inside these homes than among the general population; the appalling treatment of women and children which I mentioned earlier; the burial practices - in my constituency of Westmeath there are between 300 and 500 bodies buried at the home in Castlepollard but we cannot even identify the precise number of babies buried there; how children were used as guinea pigs in the trials of vaccines; how infant bodies were dissected for medical research; how babies were taken from their mothers so they could be illegally and forcibly adopted.

While we cannot rewrite history, this investigation, if properly framed with the right terms of reference, will have the opportunity to ensure we have an independent, transparent and factual record of what happened at these homes. I welcome the Minister's commitment again this evening that there will be future engagement with the Opposition and with interested groups. We must ensure that appropriate records are maintained for all time into the future and that all records will be sorted in chronological order, digitised and made available to persons who came through these homes and wish to find their identity. There are approximately 45,000 people who are unable to find their true identity. Only last month I met a mother and son and even though both parties consented to their records being made available, those records could not be made available. The availability of records would be something positive to emerge from a very shameful period of our past.

I look forward to working with the Minister in a constructive manner to ensure this sorry saga is brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

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