Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I would like to divide my time between the past and the present in respect of how mothers and babies are treated. I fully support a full investigation, which must deal with all of the homes, with all records handed over. Major issues are at stake and I wonder whether the Government and the Fianna Fáil benches will take some time to think about these issues. How did it happen that women and children born outside wedlock were treated so badly and, effectively, tortured? How did such a weak and poverty-ridden State lean on the Catholic Church for support and legitimacy, and how come it tied the morals of the church into the State and the Constitution, with the resultant horror for women and children? Then, as now, the State was made up of the same political parties, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party, that have alternated power for the past number of years. The State, not just the church, is equally culpable. The State was responsible for these women and children.

The Taoiseach said it was an abomination that women were treated like that in what he termed the old days. I ask the Minister to turn his attention to lone parents and children today. Who is most affected by the hammer blow of austerity dealt by this Government and the previous Government? The answer is lone parents. No other group in society is more likely, or guaranteed, to live in poverty than that group. Who is most affected by the decision of this Government and the previous Government not to build council housing? Mothers and babies, particularly single parents, are directly affected by the State's neglect in privatising the housing system. Today, mothers and babies are not shunned and hidden away, but I put it to the Minister that the current epidemic of homelessness is making victims of mothers and babies, particularly single mothers and their babies, which is resulting in serious mental and physical health problems for the women and their children. They are being affected by cuts in child benefit, rent allowance and a host of supports that allow them to make a life for themselves and for their families. I ask the Minister to note that the State is continuing to privatise the care of all vulnerable groups in society - in many cases, to private religious denominations. Will that be investigated by the commission?

The crime and shame of direct provision for asylum seekers has also been mentioned. This effectively guarantees that people live in a nightmare of torture.

I also point out to the Minister that it was not so long ago that the ranks of the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil backbenches revolted over the idea of allowing women autonomy over their own bodies when pregnant. That did not happen a million years ago; it was very recent. The right to life does not end at birth. I hope that is noted by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and those who denied women that autonomy in legislation arising from the X case.

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