Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Connolly and her colleagues in Independents 4 Change on bringing this motion to the House. This is an important issue of concern to many of us. As stated by Deputy Nolan, Sinn Féin supports the call for measures to include an immediate review of the operations of Caranua and for negotiations between the Department and the OPW on an appropriate solution that will not incur a cost to the survivors' fund, the latter being absolutely crucial. It is important to emphasise that Caranua is an organisation set up to serve and address the needs of those affected by atrocious crimes and abuses in this State. It exists to provide a service and to administer State funds and there should be no confusion about that.

During my time as a councillor prior to my election to this House and during my time since as a Deputy, I have often questioned the role of Caranua. My experience with the organisation on behalf of constituents has been extremely negative. Frequently the response from the organisation is that survivors are not eligible for this or that. Regardless of what a person is applying for he or she seems to fall outside the criteria. No appeals process is evident and it is not possible to meet with anyone to discuss an issue. Only last week, in response to representations on behalf of a constituent, I received a lengthy form to be completed by the constituent to confirm it was okay for me to deal with the matter on behalf of that constituent, with no consideration having been given to whether the person concerned had a difficulty with reading and writing. I am delighted that Deputy Connolly has brought forward this motion. It is time we started discussing this issue.

Given the manner in which people are being treated by the system, it is not appropriate to refer to it as part of a healing process. The overall attitude of Caranua needs to change dramatically. The tone and language used by the CEO in the past epitomises the ethos of the organisation. The message that comes across is one of "get over it and move on", which, unfortunately, is the way we deal with everything in this country. How many times have we debated mother and baby homes, the Magdalen laundries and so on in this House, all of us using words such as "terrible" and "horrible" in that regard yet we are allowing similar things to happen. This is happening under our watch. We need to ensure change is brought about. This can be done if Deputies support this motion tonight.

I fear that Caranua to date has become a self-regulating system with little accountability. Unless the recommendations in this motion are acted on, the overall reputation and operations of Caranua will remain questionable. I urge all Deputies to support this motion.

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