Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak on the motion because, like many other Deputies, I have heard of the horrors that our society brought upon women and children in those institutions for many years. It was not just in the institutions because children were also sold, bartered and transported abroad on false documentation by the institutions of this State and neighbouring states. That happened because there was a moralistic attitude towards women. The most scandalous part is that for many years our society had this moralistic attitude. However, the hypocrites who gave that moral lesson to us all were the very ones who were bartering children, starving them and refusing them medical aid. In fact, they treated people as slaves.

Thanks to the courage of those in the Visitors Gallery and others around the world who have come together to tell their stories, we are starting to listen for once. It is not good enough to just listen, however, because we must also learn from the mistakes of our past. The only way we can do that is if we establish the truth by listening to the stories of those on whom this society inflicted the horrors of these institutions. It is not just the institutions we have heard of in the media lately, but also other institutions whose secrets are still hidden from those who pass their doors every day. I know of one in Castlepollard where a memorial was promised to indicate some of the horrors that went on there. To date, however, that memorial has not been erected and, as a result, there is no sign to indicate what happened.

Each one of us has heard stories from individual survivors of other institutions. Like others, I have encouraged those survivors to let the public know, thus relieving themselves of the hurt if at all possible. Some of them are not up to that task, however. They do not want to broadcast to the world what happened to them because some of them are still ashamed for no reason. It was no fault of their own.

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That is the fear that was wrought on them, day in and day out, in some of these institutions. There is a woman with whom I deal regularly who was sent to a special school for girls. She was brutalised day in and day out from the age of nine years until she left the school in Blackrock in this city at the age of 18. She can barely function in society today because of the horrors wrought on her. That same story has been replicated by others with whom I have dealt in the past and with whom I still deal to this day. They are the ones whose voices need to be heard. They also want society to listen to them and help them on the rest of their journey through life because many of them have been left with legacy issues, including health, mental health and education issues, which have not been addressed. The first part of addressing it is for society as a whole to admit to its failings and the torture it put these women and children through. Their families on the outside were also often left distressed. Those who are guilty of engaging in these barbaric practices must then suffer some consequences. Whether it should be just ignominy or more is not for me to say, but the victims and survivors need to be heard. Their voices need to be broadcast to the world and future generations in order that we will not repeat the mistakes or actions of the past, in particular towards women and children. The hypocrites who ran these institutions claimed to be Christian. The actions about which we have heard in Tuam, in particular, were not Christian. Some of those who claimed to be our moral masters are now, thankfully, being exposed for the hypocrites that they were.

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