Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I welcome the opportunity to speak today on the news of what came out of the Cabinet meeting earlier this week. Fianna Fáil welcomes the recent announcement of the Minister that a full forensic excavation will be conducted at the site of the former Bon Secours mother and baby home in Tuam. We fully support all efforts to bring justice to all survivors of the mother and baby homes and to deliver some peace to relatives and survivors. This era in Irish history represents a blemish on our collective morality and we must do our best to right the wrong of this era.

We have reached this point through the tireless work and campaigning of many people, most notably Catherine Corless, the amateur historian from Tuam who slaved behind the scenes for years to investigate the history of the Bon Secours mother and baby homes and finally uncovered the horrific story. Furthermore, a number of survivors' groups and individuals have done Ireland a great service by ensuring the story was heard even when many people had no interest in listening to it.

There is a need to manage expectations, as the Minister has said, with regard to the excavation. In its report the expert technical group, comprising academic leaders in DNA and forensic science, were honest about the severe technical challenges in many cases and the impossibilities of identifying the mingled remains of many very young children. The expert technical group further stated there is a need to communicate realistic expectations about what DNA may be able to produce in a complex site such as Tuam.

Given the advanced age of many survivors of the Bon Secours mother and baby homes we believe it is crucial that the work is done as quickly as possible. This is something I referenced with the Taoiseach yesterday. As the Minister indicated in her speech, we do not have timelines. The Minister has given a welcome commitment that we will have the primary legislation in the first quarter of next year but anybody who has ever come in the doors of Leinster House realises how difficult it is to get legislation through.

One of the issues I spoke about yesterday was with regard to all of the good work being done by the various expert technical groups and how the excavation will be mastered on a phased basis. It will need to run in tandem with the legislation because there is no point in completing one part of the jigsaw if we are not ready immediately with the legislation. No Member of the House would want legislation to be the cause of a delay. From what I can gather, the Bill will refer to complex existing legislation, including the Coroners Act, the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, the Public Health (Ireland) Act, the Criminal Justice Act, and legislation on forensic evidence and the location of victim remains. An awful lot of work must be done in this regard. I am glad and heartened to hear the Minister will work with other Departments to pull it together. That in itself will be fantastic. This will be about using the Tuam site to map how we can bring closure to other sites throughout the country if needs be, with Tuam being the priority at present.

I acknowledge the work done by Dr. Geoffrey Shannon. He produced the report on the former site of the mother and baby home. He brought a human aspect to this as he chronologically went through it.

The only way this can be approached is on a phased basis to take into account the residents who live locally and the survivors at the epicentre of this. It will take into account the community, which is most important. Many people never thought it would come to this stage. They all thought it would just be reports and accolades for Catherine Corless and the fabulous work she has done. I do not believe they envisaged it would come to the stage where we have a report that states it will be done on a phased basis and that the Government will support it. We are happy to be part of that support. It is very productive and heartening to see and it is very welcome. There is a wider community we must bring with us. There is a community that has been silent and this is hitting a very raw nerve. This was the norm and the way of life back in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. We are touching history but we are going right under the skin. Some families have never had this discussion and it will go right to their heart. Conducting it on a phased basis, with regard to what the DNA sampling will throw up and what people will learn when they decide to investigate their history, will bring closure for many very good people.

I always reference one or two people when I speak in the Chamber and those I will mention today have been met by the Minister. They are Tommy Ward, who is a good friend of mine, and Pat Duffy. They are deeply grateful for the progress to date but we cannot stop here. We need to ensure that the work of the commission of investigation is completed. I do not know whether it is on track. It has received extension after extension. Will it be finished by February 2019? Are we on track to see the completion of this work?

There is also a concern, and I believe it is only right that I say it, with regard to where it will go next. People are fearful it will turn into a forensic site or a crime site. This is some of the commentary that is taking place. Perhaps the Minister will be able to allay some of these fears. Some residents are afraid that where they are living will be made a crime scene. This is a real question from the residents in Tuam.

There is another moral aspect to all of this.

Although the excavation will bring some closure, we must also consider the survivors. In some cases, they were deprived of an education, a proper upbringing or access to their records. The Minister referred to a cross-departmental group which is to be established. Some of the survivors are seeking housing, medical or counselling supports. Now more than ever we must offer them real supports such as counselling. These people need the opportunity to talk with professionals. They need their voices heard and to feel listened to. Some of them do not have access to transport or are dependent on State support. We must find a way to ensure that the survivors of the Tuam mother and baby home have access to a counselling service such as those in Ballinasloe and Galway. It is not like Dublin, where one can take a taxi or a local bus to such appointments. Those services are not freely available in my area of the country. We must find a mechanism to support those seeking counselling or assistance with housing issues. Some of the residents and survivors I have encountered have issues with literacy and numeracy and would like some help. We have a very good council in Galway with which we should liaise in order to support the survivors. We can help them to achieve closure by offering them such supports. I thank the Minister for her action on this matter.

See this speech in context