Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important issue as the publication of the terms of reference for the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes is a step - but only a step - on the path of coming to terms with Ireland's tragic past. It is a step in delivering on this Government's commitment to establish an effective statutory investigation which can provide a full account of what happened in and around mother and baby homes and other relevant issues.

At this stage I thank the Minister for a reply to a question I put down to him regarding people I have sought to represent over a period. I asked the Minister for a definition in the submission I made. It asked in regard to the terms of reference for a commission of investigation for mother and baby homes and certain related matters ordered for 2015, whether the commission will investigate children admitted to institutions without parental presence in the institutions, such as convents, and where such children had to work in laundries, and if they would be permitted to make a submission. I have tried every channel to get information from a Department for these people without success. I have used freedom of information requests and written to various organisations seeking records. I usually have the cheque returned with a note indicating there is no information or the request is not applicable to the Department, etc.

I ask the Minister to ensure there can be a possibility that these people will not be denied once more. They have been denied too often and they now want ways and means of telling their story, as they are entitled to do. In many instances, these people were put in such institutions because of difficulty at home or because of a status as a single parent. They were brought to convents by gardaí, nuns or parents. These people were placed in homes in Dublin to work as cleaners or assistants without any agreement with parents or link to family. These people must be given an opportunity to contribute.

In the reply the Minister gave me, I certainly saw hope that this can happen and I thank him for that. The mother and baby homes commission of investigation shows the commitment of this Government dealing with the problems of our State's history. We have already seen that progress is being made on many of the recommendations arising from the Ryan report on the commission of inquiry into child abuse in institutions in this State. New child protection guidelines and the Children First Bill 2014 all form part of that. We also had the much-needed public apology by the Taoiseach. This recognition starts the ball rolling. We must look into all the aspects of these homes and many other aspects as well where children were so badly treated.

I always remember a story told on "The Late Late Show" one night by a young man who had come back from America and who had done well for himself. He came out of one of those homes and was sent to a farm. To ensure he stayed there night and day, he was tied to a chair. When he reached the age at which he could get away, he emigrated to America and did well for himself and was able to come back and tell the story. There are thousands of cases like that where unfortunates were sent to private homes, farms, etc., which are not part and parcel of this. We will not be doing the right thing unless we give those people the opportunity to tell their stories. That is how tragic Ireland's history is. We must now look forward but the only way we can do that is to look at the tragic past we allowed to happen, whether through Departments, the church and the law, which saw it happening but did nothing about it. It is unbelievable to think that the church is now in such a state but when one reads the history of what happened, one knows why that is case.

I remember being told a story by my mother who is 96 years of age of the people who cared. There were people who kept the child at home but they had to walk through the fields at night if they wanted to visit grandparents, brothers or sisters so that the prying neighbours would not see them. Those people were supposed to be neighbours but they were far from what is a true, realistic, honest and becoming neighbour. They put those people through such an ordeal that they had to walk through the fields in the dark to get to their loved ones or to ensure the child could be cared for while they went to work. We must ensure their stories can be told because that is what this is about. It is about being honest with ourselves but if we cannot be honest with ourselves, then the next generation will have to deal with the same story. This is an opportunity we should not miss. We should use every opportunity to address what we can.

I listened to the Opposition name homes at which we are not looking. It is not fair to do that. All the cases mentioned in the House should be looked at and if there is a mechanism to investigate them, it should happen. A man from County Down wrote to me to see if the home in County Wicklow would be investigated. As a survivor of the Westbank home, he wanted his history to be told. Why should he be denied that if this is a transparent investigation? Why should anybody be denied the right to tell his or her story because many people just want to tell their stories? There will be no financial gain for these people. They want to put the record straight on how they suffered, how their families suffered and so on. That story needs to be told. If this investigation is to be right and final, all those stories told will make the difference and we can move forward with pride so that the next generation of Deputies and Senators will not say we were negligent in our duties but will say that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs moved forward with all the information to ensure that this investigation would finally deal with all the situations which I and others have mentioned.

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