Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is with heavy and angry hearts that we all came here this morning to discuss the conditions in which people lived in the decades following the foundation of this so-called republic. The treatment of people in mother and baby homes, Magdalen laundries and industrial schools as well as our attitude towards services for disabled children was appalling. We have a unique opportunity now to get to the bottom of this issue and deal with it as best we can. We must acknowledge Ms Catherine Corless, who stood up against the system and insisted that her discovery was true and that at least 800 infants and young children died in the mother and baby home in Tuam between 1925 and 1961. Without her persistence and without the mothers and survivors who were in that mother and baby home, we would not have known the horrible truth of what happened in Tuam. Indeed, what happened there happened in all mother and baby homes; I do not think any of those institutions were any different from Tuam.

The point about class was made in the House and that is very important. On the founding of this State in 1922, one of the first actions of the then Government was to introduce the Local Government (Temporary Provisions) Act. In that Act, unmarried mothers were singled out as a special problem. They were classed as offenders and were shamed as fallen women and the babies they gave birth to were classed as illegitimate. The term "illegitimate" was very important to both the church and the State because it allowed such children to be separated out from legitimate children. In 1924 the Commission on Relief of the Sick and Destitute Poor including the Insane Poor was set up against the backdrop of the then Cumann na nGaedhal Government's implementation of an austerity programme. That Government believed in trickle-down economics, with the rich passing their wealth down to the poor. It cut pensions by 10% and supported farmers in driving down labourers' wages by 16%. It reintroduced the seven-day working week and imposed a tax on blankets which were essential items for families, particularly in rural areas. We also had a forgotten famine in 1924, when the Government did not acknowledge the fact that 175,000 people were affected by food shortages in the west of Ireland, particularly along the coasts of Mayo and Donegal.

In 1924, Ireland had a higher number of children in industrial schools than Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. As a result of an intervention at a church conference in 1934, anybody found to be bearing an illegitimate child was denounced by the church from the pulpit. Their names were not mentioned, but they were driven out of the locality. Parents were forced to bring their children to mother and baby homes. It was an absolute insult to hear the Taoiseach saying in this House earlier this month that "no nuns broke into our homes to kidnap our children". An organised framework that was in place in this country allowed priests to call to someone's door to say that his or her daughter had to be brought to a mother and baby home. On the back of the papal visit of 1979, a buoyant Catholic Church brought about the insertion of the eighth amendment to the Constitution. The church's campaign for a "No" vote in the first divorce referendum in the 1980s led to the defeat of the Government proposal. Thankfully, the people responded differently in the second referendum and voted for divorce.

In 2002, the church specifically contacted its insurance company to get itself indemnified against anybody who might take a case relating to the industrial schools. It consciously intervened to ensure it was protected. It suggested to the Government of the time that if 2,000 children from industrial schools took a court challenge based on the treatment that was meted out to them, it would win most of those cases and would not have to pay out. That is why the State was forced into the dirty deal on congregation funding that Michael Woods signed off on in 2002. The church has a lot to answer for.

Huge respect has to be given to the mothers and others who survived the mother and baby homes, the industrial schools and the Magdalen laundries. I remind the House that the last Magdalen laundry closed in 1996, which is not much more than 20 years ago. The history of these institutions is one of oppression, particularly class oppression, facilitated by a weak Republic that was not able to stand up against the might of the church. The submissions to the commission should be opened up. They are closed at the moment. Many people have come forward to speak about what happened in previous times. The process should be reopened to allow more submissions to be received by the commission. We should have another debate in this House when the report comes back. We should listen intently to the survivors when they tell us what they want. We must proceed on the basis of what they think is necessary as the commission moves forward and not on the basis of what we think is necessary in that context. I know the Minister is particularly dedicated to trying to resolve these issues. We have to work closely with those who have been affected by them. They and not us are the key people in this regard.

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