Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. Listening to Deputies on all sides of the House welcome the fact that we have eventually, as a Parliament and as a people faced this very difficult historic issue that affects many people today is something I welcome. We must acknowledge that society itself, along with the institutions, facilitated the abuse of many people. The fact that women who were pregnant outside of marriage were seen in an appalling way not only by the institutions, but by broader society and encouraged by churches, has left a terrible stain on Irish society and, more importantly, on the people directly affected.

In the context of the establishment of the mother and baby homes commission of investigation, we should not put barriers in place, preventing people from coming forward to tell their stories of how they were victimised by the State, institutions, mother and baby homes and society itself. When we shed light on the dark past, we should acknowledge and deal with it in a very sensitive manner.

I have met some of the victims of mother and baby homes who were treated in an appalling fashion, very often by their families as well by the institution in which they were placed and by broader society when they left that institution. That is something we have to acknowledge in a non-partisan and a non-political way but as a mature society and deal with it accordingly. That is why we must put no roadblocks in front of any individual who believes his or her story must be heard. I hope people avail of the facilities in place to bring forward their opinions and tell their stories of what happened to them or their siblings in the context of mother and baby homes and other institutions.

Coupled with that, there is another stark issue with which we, as a society, must deal, namely, the issue of forced adoptions, private adoptions and child trafficking. It happened on an industrial scale in this country for many years. This is an opportunity for us to allow the light to shine on this very disturbing part of history, namely, adoptions and how families were torn apart at the behest of institutions, with the encouragement of churches and at the behest of, with the encouragement of and maybe with a blind eye being turned by society at large. That is an area with which we must deal in a very sensitive and sympathetic manner to ensure that people who were trafficked, adopted or taken from their mother without her consent have an opportunity to have their views and opinions and their stories listened to. We must facilitate that.

The Minister has been very positive in listening to the views of Deputies on all sides of the House in terms of bringing forward a commission of investigation into mother and baby homes in a non-partisan way and in a way that reflects how we as a mature society must deal with the stains of the past. I hope that continues in a consensual way. I hope the views of Deputies on all sides of the House, of broader society and the many lobby groups and individuals who have had their lives torn apart in the context of living through and surviving mother and baby homes and who were torn from their mother without her consent and not knowing where they came from many years, are heard. We cannot deny them that opportunity.

I read the first edition by Paul Redmond of the standard reference guide and timeline of mother and baby homes adoption and the treatment of single mothers and their children from 1739 to 2015. It was harrowing to read how society dealt with families, how they viewed single motherhood and the way many people were forced to leave this country to hide what would be seen as a stain on a family or on a community. That is something we have to ensure is unearthed and dealt with.

There is a broader issue in that when people tell their stories, we have to react to them in a meaningful way. It is fine to shed light on them but we must allow that light to highlight the fact that many of these people were wronged by the State, wronged by institutions and wronged by society, and we will owe them something. As a society, we will have to look at the entire area of medical care and assistance as a result of which many people might have been traumatised. To put it bluntly, we must put our money where our mouths are by making sure people are adequately looked after in terms of medical care, for example, in some cases where people may need it. Some people have asked me to raise the specific issue of people who were traumatised by that experience and victimised and abused in the context of how they were dealt with in mother and baby homes, and who as a result had psychological conditions, psychiatric conditions and physical conditions. We should look sympathetically at them and not give them something just because it would make us feel better, but because they deserve it, and they need it in many cases.

For all those reasons this commission is a start. The end will be a journey not only for this country, but also for many individuals who were dealt with in an appalling manner by society and by the institutions, and we will have to address the fallout that will come from that.

I referred to adoptions earlier. Outside the institutions named in the debate tonight, there were many private hospitals and other institutions that are not named that facilitated forced adoptions and private adoptions. Whatever way we want to dress it up, it was child trafficking of some form or another and that is an area we have to unearth with great sensitivity. Some people have come to me and expressed the view that they want a light to be shed on this area as well. They want to be able to tell their story but equally to have their anonymity preserved if they so wish. That is something we have to take on board because in years to come we cannot decide that we did not deal with this matter when it was brought to our attention in a sympathetic, timely manner because time runs out for everybody. People move on in life, and we should do this as a matter of urgency to ensure that they can come forward, tell their story, have it listened to and acted upon if they so wish. As previous speakers said, that area is critically important.

Fianna Fáil welcomes the publication of the terms of reference of the independent investigation into mother and baby homes. We will try to encourage the Government to ensure that it moves in a direction that opens up this debate to facilitate all those who feel aggrieved and who have been aggrieved and hurt by the neglect of the State and by society's views at that time. While we cannot change what happened in the past, we can acknowledge it and try to provide redress to the people who have been victimised and damaged because of it.

We have had previous discussion in this Chamber over many years about the State's failings in other areas, such as child abuse in institutions. Some dark passages in our history have only come to light, and very often there is still resistance not necessarily by a political party or Government, but always a wall of resistance at times to people who have been victimised or damaged in the past. As a Republic that should cherish all its citizens, we should lead from the front in terms of facilitating a broad, open debate on many of the dark chapters in our history. The Minister has been very much to the fore in that regard. I have been deservedly critical of him in other areas but in this area he has been open and forthright in trying to ensure that we facilitate this debate and encourage as many people as possible to come forward.

I commend the motion. I hope that people can engage but, more importantly, that they will be facilitated to engage in a meaningful way so that we can once and for all shed light on this dark past.

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