Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an díospóireacht seo agus molaim mo chomhghleacaí i Sinn Féin as an rún seo a chur síos anocht, mar go bhfuil sé fíor thábhachtach go bhfuil an Teach seo ag plé na ceiste seo. Mar atá ráite cheana, ní seo an chéad uair atá seo pléite, mar ardaíodh an t-ábhar seo - an córas a bhí i bhfeidhm le blianta fada - sa Teach seo agus bhí a fhios ag Teachtaí Dála san am a chuaigh thart go raibh a leithéid ag tarlú. Ní hamháin go raibh fios ag Teachtaí Dála agus polaiteoirí, bhí fios ag daoine i gcumhacht sa Stát sna blianta a chuaigh thart go raibh a leithéid ag tarlú.

Sílim gur díospóireacht tromchúiseach atá ar siúl againn anocht, díospóireacht a bhrisfeadh croí an duine agus é ag smaoineamh ar na máithreacha sin a chuaigh isteach go dtí na hárasáin seo agus gur tarraingíodh a linbh díobh. Duine ar bith a bhí i láthair nuair a rugadh a pháiste a cheapfadh, sa lá atá inniu againn, go dtiocfadh daoine isteach leis an leanbh sin a tharraingt uaidh, bheadh smaoineamh maith aige ar an ualach trom a bheadh fágtha air. Tugann sin le fios nach raibh cúram tugtha do riachtanais na leanaí sin. Ní raibh an Stát ag amharc i ndiaidh riachtanais na leanaí sin mar ba cheart agus fuair méid mór díobh bás faoi chúram an Stáit agus faoi chúram na heaglaise ag an am.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an fógra atá déanta ag an Rialtas go mbeidh fiosrúchán sa réimse seo. Tá sé iontach tábhachtach go dtarlaíonn sin go scioptha, ach go ndíreoidh an fiosrúchán sin isteach ar na ceisteanna ar a gcaithfimid freagra a fháil. The inquiry must also examine the regimes that operated the mother and baby homes and the reason the mortality rate was so despicably high. It must also examine why so many of these children ended up in such an undignified burial place and, most importantly, it must look at who was responsible for their deaths.

Between 1925 and 1961, some 796 children died in Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home. The lowest mortality rates in these so-called homes was 34%. That means that even in the least brutal homes, one in three children died. In Bessborough, the figure was 60%.

It was not happening in Catholic institutions only. In the Protestant-run Bethany Home in Dublin 219 people died. The State is still deflecting its responsibility in that case, despite the attempts of the campaigners, Sinn Féin and others to have the issue dealt with. I hope the Government will deal with it in a speedy manner.

What we are speaking about is a very dark chapter in our history - prisons, not homes, in which children and their mothers were treated brutally and a society that turned a blind eye. Children were experimented on. That brings to mind the worst aspects of the most brutal regimes of the last century. These things happened in this state and a conservative and anti-woman mentality allowed them to happen. It is not good enough to say they happened in the past and that the past was a different place. They happened because people let them happen. People - Irish people - committed these crimes or, through inaction, allowed them to happen. Today, vulnerable children are still not given their full rights. For example, the children of asylum seekers are kept in direct provision centres. It is hoped that, if nothing else, this tragic story will spur us on to ensure the children of today are cherished. That is the real legacy that we need to live up to. We have all come into this Chamber to proclaim that all of the children of the nation should be cherished equally, but how many of us will be in it when a future Government apologises to all those held in direct provision centres today? There are more people in direct provision centres than in our prisons. In the words of one asylum seeker:

If the State cares so much for children, why are they allowed to live in such inappropriate conditions? No one is illegal in any country. This is a free world, especially for children and children have a right to grow up in a normal environment.

That is happening. As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Charles Flanagan needs to intervene. We must move as quickly as possible to get to the facts about what happened in the past, but we also need to prevent what happened from recurring in the future. The children of Tuam, Roscrea, Pelletstown and all of the other so-called homes deserve to be remembered and honoured. The individuals, Orders, institutions or State bodies that facilitated these horrible events should be held responsible without hand-wringing or an attempt to contextualise or excuse. I thank the survivors, their families and support groups and all those who have fought to bring this horrific situation to light. I am glad that the House is united in its horror and hope this can be translated as soon as possible into a thorough and unrelenting inquiry into what happened during this very dark chapter.

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