Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It goes almost beyond the constraints of our vocabulary to find the right words to describe the shock and horror all of us felt on hearing of the discovery of human remains at Tuam by the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. As shocked and horrified as we have been, many of us were not wholly surprised. As a mother, a citizen of this State and a human being, I am outraged that our most vulnerable young little citizens, those who were most in need of the protection of the State and its institutions and whose care was often left in the hands of the churches, both Catholic and Protestant, were so cruelly let down and disposed of in such a disgraceful, undignified and disrespectful way. I am not alone in having these sentiments. The anger of people is palpable. This latest horror perpetrated against these little innocents is just one more scandal in what has been a litany of unfolding scandals. It has left society numbed to some extent. Of course, we cannot afford to be numb, because the consequences of this cruelty live with us now.

I see Sheila in the Visitors Gallery. Perhaps she will give us a thumbs up. Sheila is just one of many dignified, wonderful people who are not so much victims but who describe themselves as survivors of what was a horrific system of abuse. It was perpetrated by many agencies, including the Roman Catholic church and the Protestant churches. All of it happened in, and was overseen by, the State. We need to get our heads around that. Yes, private institutions and individuals absolutely must be held to account for their actions, but it was the State that funded, regulated and oversaw this horrific system of abuse. Therein lies the big scandal. Did society go along with the prevailing views around women and their children? Yes. Did families go along with that? Were they coerced and bullied into those views? Absolutely. However, if we are serious about dealing with these issues we must not miss the fact that the defining actor or player in all of this was the State. The State allowed this to happen.

It was known that abuse was happening in institutions. It was known that babies were being taken from their mothers and being trafficked. I use that word advisedly. The records of debates in the Dáil reflect the fact that it was known, as do media reports from that time. The most essential point for us, as public representatives, Members of the Oireachtas and human beings, is to acknowledge that the principal accountability must be sought from, and provided by, the State. I make that point strongly because there is a danger that the agencies of the State will retreat behind the guilt of other parties and private institutions. That will not cut it. It is not good enough.

We know the history of neglect and abuse of women and girls in many institutions such as Magdalen laundries, mother and baby homes and county homes, not to mention industrial schools. The fascinating and almost morbid element is that to get the full picture of what was going on under the nose of the State, and sponsored by the State, we must not just investigate what happened in individual institutions but also understand the interplay between those institutions. It was not at all unusual for a woman who had been in a Magdalen laundry to be subsequently in a mother and baby home or a county home. It was also not unusual for those individuals to have come from, or for their offspring to spend time in, industrial schools. I know from my work dealing with people that it is also not unusual to find that later on many of these people have spent time in and out of prison. In fact, I know people - I call them the institutionalised class in our Republic - whose entire human experiences as citizens of this Republic were spent bouncing from one institution to another, never being given the supports or opportunity to recover. I am sure my colleagues in the House are aware of the same scenario.

These institutions deprived women and children of their liberty, forced them to endure harsh conditions and ground them down in a mill of physical and emotional abuse. What more horrors have yet to be uncovered? More importantly, what can we do now? I appreciate that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, is absolutely committed to doing the right thing. The least we can do now is afford to the women and babies, the victims and survivors, the respect and dignity that have been denied to them for so long. The response of State agencies to the discovery of the mass grave has been inadequate so far. That site and other equivalent sites, such as at Sean Ross Abbey, Bessborough and Castlepollard, must be preserved and protected. I believe all human remains found at the site must be recovered, although I realise there are mixed views on that subject. An appropriate and respectful burial is central to our atonement to these victims. The Garda Síochána must have the appropriate resources and approach in investigating the deaths and potentially appalling crimes.

Victims and survivors have travelled a long and arduous journey. It is only due to their tenacity and persistence that we find ourselves at this point. Catherine Corless has been vindicated. Her dedication and commitment led to this discovery. The work of survivors and campaigners, such as Sheila who is watching this debate, will undoubtedly continue. I commend to the Minister our proposal for a truth commission. It is an all-encompassing approach that allows for testimony, witness, ensures the protection of evidential material and allows people to have appropriate representation where that is deemed necessary and fitting. Let us stop doing this in a piecemeal way and examine it in its full scale. We commend to the Minister the truth commission that we described in our Private Members motion last night. I hope the Minister and the Dáil will support it.

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