Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Boyd Barrett and Barry for allowing me to speak before them as I have an appointment. I appreciate it.

I am happy to make a few brief remarks on the issue of adoption. What has emerged in light of the illegalities and forced adoptions in this State is a scandal that cries to heaven for justice. The idea that young babies and children were forcibly removed from their parents without their consent is something that should cause the most serious and sustained reflection on our part. It is a betrayal of the ethos that I and many hundreds of thousands of others in this State believe which says that every human life is precious and of infinite value. It should never have happened regardless of the intention or the motivation.

A mother’s love is something sacred and utterly unique. The bond between her and her baby is like nothing else in the natural world. We should have cherished that love. Instead we betrayed it and there is no hiding from that plain fact.

I have listened to the stories of those who were caught up in the facts emerging about St Patrick’s Guild and in particular to one story of how a young mother came back to her room to find her baby had been removed. Who can imagine the terror and horror that that young woman experienced? How can I or any one of us speak to the pain of such a horrible event? We cannot. All we can do is walk with these people and offer them the kind of compassion and friendship that they ought to have received all those years ago.

Yesterday, my staff and I attended the briefing which the Minister provided which was most informative and helpful and I thank him for that. As the Minister observed, recent events have utterly changed the legislative landscape in terms of how we approach this issue. There was a definite sense that what we want to achieve is the greatest possible outcome for those caught up in scandals like that of St Patrick’s Guild. It is an issue that I hope will rise above party squabbles and be treated with the kind of respect and dignity it deserves. I know there are issues relating to the adoption register in terms of data protection and so on, but those can be addressed in the fullness of time during the debates that will no doubt take place in this House when the adoption Bill comes before us.

We must address the wounds of the past. We cannot ignore them but we must deal with them fairly. In the heat of debate, and I am sure the Minister will agree, we cannot lose sight of that fact that justice must be extended to all those religious who genuinely gave their lives and their love to the children in their care. While there are stories that horrify us, they are not the full picture. Not long ago, my office was contacted by the relative of two aunts who were nuns from the 1940s until very recently. They both gave their lives in establishing medical and orphanage care to thousands of young children in this State. For many years before they died, people would come to them and thank them for the only instances of human warmth they ever received. Their generosity of soul cannot be airbrushed out of history.

Our top priority must be about establishing urgent redress for those caught up in the recent adoption scandal. As Deputy Clare Daly noted at yesterday's briefing, age is not on the side of many of those seeking justice and the truth about their children. Anything we can we do in terms of access to records must be done to help speed that process along. Archbishop’s House has indicated that it will assist in this matter, and that is to be greatly welcomed. Subjecting these people to trauma at the beginning of their lives was bad enough but to do it to them again at the end of their life would be unforgivable.

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