Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important debate and I acknowledge the men and women in the Public Gallery who have come to the House to follow this debate. In June 2014, Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia director, John Delhuisen, stated that Ireland's obligation to provide truth, justice and reparations to victims of past human rights abuses must be central to the work of the commission of investigation, and that is essential to confront and deal with this legacy if Ireland is to progress as a society that respects rights.

It was noted that the Government must respond to the commission's findings with a more faithful adherence to its obligations under international human rights law than in the case of the Magdalen laundries. Victims should be able to participate effectively in the commission's investigations and be consulted on key issues where their interests are affected. They should be treated with humanity and respect for their dignity.

The terms of reference for the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes and related matters propose to establish a series of basic truths regarding the circumstances of entry of single women into named institutions between 1922 and 1998. Their living conditions, mortality rates and exit pathways are to be investigated. The commission will seek to do the same for the children of these women and establish how were they cared for within those institutions and what adoptive procedures were in place. The commission will ask whether mothers' consents were given fully, freely and with full information. For survivors of those institutions and their families to have confidence in the findings of the commission, it must identify any violations of the rights of these citizens, identify those responsible and propose effective remedies. Only then will justice be seen to be done.

The establishment of the commission of investigation is to be welcomed. Sinn Féin argues that the commission must be cross-Border in nature and that any international dimensions should be accounted for also. This would require cross-jurisdictional and international co-operation. The time span as outlined is too limited. It covers the period between 1922 and 1998, which presumes that with the closure of mother and baby homes all related concerns disappeared. This could not be farther from the truth. Massive legacy issues remain, including the inaccurate recording of children's and mothers' deaths, causes of deaths and unidentified burial grounds. Another significant and alarming legacy issue is the matter of trial vaccinations on vulnerable children within care. In my constituency of east Cork, I have met with several individuals who were subjected to vaccine trials while in mother and baby homes. The main concern for these individuals is the lack of information around the drugs prescribed. In some cases there have been residual effects. Understandably, this causes huge ongoing distress.

The Minister, Deputy James Reilly, has told us that the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes will have the power to compel the drug companies which conducted vaccine trials on children resident in the homes to come before it. This is to be welcomed. The commission will examine whether regulatory and ethical standards were followed in relation to vaccine trials conducted on children. At least ten mother and baby homes were involved and it is believed the trials took place between 1960 and 1976. Fresh reports suggest that at least 3,000 children in 24 residential institutions and as many as 40,000 children among the general child population were administered experimental vaccines. As an investigation into vaccine trials was previously stopped following a Supreme Court ruling, it is very important that those vulnerable children who were subjected to testing without consent are given justice. Many of these children did not realise that they had even been involved in the trials until 30 years later.

The vaccine trials were conducted by Burroughs Wellcome, which is now GlaxoSmithKline. Children were subjected to trials of the four-in-one vaccine. No detailed records of the trials were recorded, nor was there any detail on whether informed consent was given. We must find out exactly what happened, who sanctioned these decisions and why these children were held in such low regard by those who should have protected them. Redress is warranted. In this context, victims of the mother and baby homes need a positive right to representation before the commission and legal costs should not be a barrier to this. They should also be supported by an independent advocacy service, which we suggest could be managed through the network of free legal advice centres.

The institutional scope as outlined in the Government's order is far too narrow. The terms of reference should encompass all mother and baby homes regardless of denomination, both Catholic and Protestant. Mother and baby homes and related institutions were merely one part of a network of institutions and individuals which illegally abridged Irish mothers' human rights. However, the terms of reference frame the inquiry as an investigation of a too narrow sample of named institutions and not as an investigation of extensive practices spanning the full spectrum of related institutional types. Survivors have expressed the concern that the commission will not be allowed to examine lives blighted outside institutions where unmarried mothers were forced to give up their children. Survivors have also said that while the terms of reference mention exit pathways from mother and baby homes, it is unclear if such pathways led into similarly dysfunctional institutions to which children were sent. Children who arrived in mother and baby homes from other pathways have been excluded from the terms of reference. Children sometimes arrived direct from maternity hospitals. It is also recommended that the commission should have specific regard to the agencies, hospitals and other institutions, and related professionals alleged to have been involved in facilitating illegal or forced adoptions and, or, illegal birth registrations.

The Magdalen laundries constituted a significant exit pathway as part of the containment of supposed problem women and girls. As the McAleese report was limited to the question of State involvement in the Magdalen laundries, the commission should have specific regard to the women who resided in these institutions and extend the scope and intensity of the investigation to include them in its inquiries.

Given the age profile of the survivors, a timely full public State apology is of the utmost importance. This need not wait for the outcome of the commission's final report in three years' time. All survivors deserve public acknowledgement and tribute. There should also be provision for official mourning and commemoration of those who died in these institutions. This should include the right to a name and dignified burial for those who are buried in mass graves. Survivors' families and next of kin should be fully included in the process of planning in this regard. This is stated in the Sinn Féin submission on the proposed commission of investigation. While the inclusion of Bessboro House of Blackrock, Cork, in the list of institutions in the investigations is welcome, I urge strongly the inclusion of Braemar House and the Nursery Rescue Society, Fermoy. We call for all victims from other related institutions also to be included.

Effective remedies and redress must include financial compensation and other social supports. They must also include the right to information and contact, on foot of legislative change if necessary, to facilitate access to personal and family records and adoption information and tracing. The Minister has indicated that this is beyond the scope of the commission but we need - and the survivors deserve - the assurance that it will be properly dealt with in tandem. The State must ensure that the orders and other institutions are held fully accountable and make a full proportionate contribution towards remedy and reparation commensurate with their level of responsibility as found by the commission. That should include contributions to the cost of the investigation. There must be no indemnity deal with the religious orders as happened in previous times.

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