Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

There is something seriously wrong in this. The women who went through the abuse of the mother and baby homes experienced many horrors. The one thing they all had in common was that there were other people telling them what was best for them, what was supposedly in their best interests and making decisions for them. These people might have been the parents who drove or brought the young woman to the mother and baby home and decided that was where she should live for the next number of years, the garda who collected the young woman on the roadside, put her into a car and drove her back to the home from where she was trying to flee or the nuns. The Light in the Window, by June Goulding, who was the midwife at the Bessborough mother and baby home in the 1950s, tells the story of the nun who would march up and down the corridor outside the room where women were giving birth and gleefully deny them painkillers as a punishment for their sins which resulted in them getting pregnant. The nuns, the garda or the parents made the decisions for these women.

In the year 2020, Ireland is now a modern state, a republic. Despite this, thousands of women and people have written to us in the past week or ten days beseeching, begging and appealing to us not to do what the Government wants to do. The Government and the Minister, who has just left the Chamber, say they know best and they will make the decision despite what people want. This might be more modern and sophisticated than what the parents, the garda and the nuns did, but is the attitude in any way fundamentally different? "We know best" says the Government.

There is a saying that is used by groups of people who are oppressed in society when they want to make the point that decisions should be made by them about their lives and not by other people about their lives. That saying is, "Nothing about is without us". People should have a right not just to a say but to decide what is in their best interests. This is being completely pushed aside in this process. The Government and the Minister say they know best. A hard-nosed civil servant would blush at what is going on here. I shake my head at the thought of this being steered through the Dáil by a Green Party Minister. Is this where the Green Party is at these days?

I would like to make a point about Tusla. It is clear from the emails that came into my office, and I thank each and every person who sent me an email, that people do not want Tusla in control of the files. People suggest alternatives. The Adoption Authority of Ireland was mentioned in many of the emails as an alternative. The Minister knows this. He knows, too, that the mother and baby home collaboration forum, the chairperson of which was appointed by the former Minister, Katherine Zappone and comprised 20 members, including advocates, raised specific criticisms of Tusla in regard to this issue and said in its report that there was a practice in Tusla of withholding identity and personal information from applicants detained as children across various institutions. The Government and the Minister know best and they are giving this responsibility to Tusla despite what people want. It is disgraceful.

The sealing of records for 30 years means people will not have access to them for 30 years. Many people, because of their age, will never have access to them. Is this another form of abuse? I believe it is and it should not happen. Points were raised about anonymity and confidentiality. Nobody is minimising the importance of these issues, least of all the campaigners, the advocates and the survivors. They are very aware of these issues and the sensitivities around the information but they rightly point out that many people who gave evidence are not just willing, they are happy to have their names included, as evidenced in the examples given earlier by Deputy Bríd Smith. They want the story to be told and known and for their names to be part of that story. The anonymity, confidentiality and wishes of other people can be protected and respected by way of redactions. This does not require files to be sealed, let alone for a period of 30 years such that people whose lives have been affected so much may never get a chance to see them. This decision should not be rushed. The debate should be extended. Additional time for discussion can be provided by way of emergency legislation. The Government will have the support and co-operation of every party and none in respect of any emergency legislation to provide for an extension to enable this matter receive the time it deserves, thus respecting the wishes of the survivors. The Government needs to learn how to listen on this issue. It is not about what it wants or how it feels. Rather, it is about what is in the interests of the survivors, society and the greater good. I reiterate the phrase I mentioned earlier, "Nothing about us without us". It is a good way of approaching issues like this. These people who were born in the mother and baby homes have been treated badly by society. They should not, and must not, be treated badly again because of a bad decision, a wrong decision, on this issue.

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