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

I welcome the opportunity to contribute further to what is an extremely important debate. I welcomed the establishment of this independent commission in an earlier contribution and I compliment Sinn Féin on using its Private Members' time to bring forward this debate.

I outlined earlier how I would like to see the terms of reference for the independent investigation framed. I believe that how we deal with this will determine how we are judged as a society.

This is an extremely dark period in our history. The news and the stories that have emanated in the past number of days are, unfortunately, not new. The recent media coverage has just reignited a debate and brought the issue to the floor of the Dáil this week.

Undoubtedly, the State, religious orders, society and even families were all complicit in the appalling treatment of women and babies in these homes. While some might say that these were different times and that we were a poor country, it is never the wrong time to do the right thing. While I welcome this full independent investigation, we must acknowledge that it is long overdue. I compliment the advocacy groups and historians who over the past number of years continued to highlight the issues and stories and correlate the facts that have again been brought to our attention in the last number of days. We now have an opportunity to get things right and to ensure that the terms of reference are right. At the very minimum, this is what these women and children deserve. There are in the region of 45,000-plus survivors of these homes who have no access to their proper identity. That is something that we can address as legislators in the Dáil.

It is very important that the Minister secure a supplementary budget from his colleagues around the Cabinet table and the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure that the children of today do not suffer while we try to compile a report on our past mistakes. We passed the children's rights referendum ensuring the rights of every children would be protected. That in itself was no panacea for all ills. While we can never undo the wrongs of the past, we can ensure that we never again fail children. While we are addressing and acknowledging the wrongs of the past, we need to look at what we are doing at the moment and how we are failing children, regardless of whether the issue is children in direct provision, which is effectively institutionalised poverty, or children in care who are being failed by the system. Representatives from the office of the Ombudsman for Children appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children today. They cited examples from the past two years, including one in which a child in the care of the State was passed around 11 times in four months. Will those who will take our places in these Chambers in the future talk about how we failed the children of today? The biggest thing we can do in terms of acknowledging the wrongs of the past is to ensure that these wrongs are not repeated now or in the future. Another example is how children with special educational needs are not legally entitled to preschool education. This is discrimination and a blatant breach of a human right. These are things we need to address.

Many speakers have spoken about the need to keep this above party politics and the need for a consensus approach. I welcome that and the Minister's consultation with the Opposition spokespersons earlier on. I ask the Government and Sinn Féin not to divide the House on this motion tomorrow night but to come together to agree a formula of words to ensure we can be united in ensuring that the facts are known and the issue is addressed.

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