Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I have said before both here and elsewhere, I am anxious that we can forge a historic all-party consensus on this most sensitive issue. I will undertake to keep Deputy Troy, his party and others involved in the process, not only in a consultative role but also in a participative one. I believe that is important and I welcome Deputy Troy's acknowledgement of what has taken place to date.

I refer the Deputy to the motion as agreed by this House on 11 June which dealt with mother and baby homes, the arrangements for the burial of children, and the need to fully and accurately document the history of such homes. I will cite a small example of the scale involved because the breadth of the issue is huge. In Cork, the adoption section of the Child and Family Agency has received a total of 25,000 files from the Sacred Heart Adoption Society. In the context of the investigation, we will have to go through these documents as we deal with the sensitive issues involved to ensure that we have at this point in our history a full and detailed appraisal of what went on over the years. I am hoping to achieve a detailed history going back to the foundation of the State and up to the 1980s.

I wish to inform Deputy Troy that I intend to meet with him later this week.

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