Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad of the opportunity to address this motion. Undoubtedly, the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes is investigating one of the darkest periods in Irish history. Mother and baby homes represent some of the worst aspects of our collective history and our humanity. Their existence was underpinned by a complex web of culpability and responsibility. Since it was first established in 2015, the commission, chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy has worked to gain a deeper understanding of the practices and experiences in these institutions. It has required the commission to conduct an great amount of document discovery work and the conducting of interviews with survivors, workers and authorities from these institutions. Although the commission was initially scheduled to make its final report by February 2018, the deadline has been extended twice. The full report is now anticipated in February 2020.

As part of its remit the commission is free to make any recommendation that it considers appropriate. It is vital that the commission is permitted to finish its task before further action is taken. To do otherwise would undermine the commission's work and only weaken its role.

The commission has been in the forefront of all our minds. The shocking details from this shameful chapter in our history is seared in all our memories. We all share a determination to do what is right for the survivors. It is vital that we give them confidence in the process and that they are reassured that the commission is working tirelessly on their behalf to investigate and document all the ongoing discovery work. It was regrettable that the final report could not be delivered early last year but we look forward - I use that phrase advisedly - to see its completion in February next year.

It is important to acknowledge that this postponement is deeply distressing and disappointing for elderly survivors especially but it is in the best interest of all survivors that the commission be given sufficient time to finish its work before making any recommendations on redress. We in Fianna Fáil are hopeful and positive that a redress scheme will be established but we stand by the commission's priority to complete the report. We are calling on the Minister to do everything necessary to expedite the completion of the commission's work.

It is important in the context of the motion to mention the specific focus of the work to investigate institutional patterns of referral and relationships with adoption societies and other intermediaries involved in the placement of children and of illegal registration. That has been referred to in the second interim report.

It is also important to note, as always, the courage of the survivors and the help of a brave local historian and committed journalist, Ms Catherine Corless. It is thanks to her courage and hard work that we can bear witness to the considerable harms experienced by mothers and their children in one of the darkest periods of Irish history.

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