Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a point. Anyone who was around in the previous Dáil – I was not – will remember that time was fairly regularly given over to statements on the mother and baby homes. If it was not regular, it was often.

That gave a sense to some survivors that at least the Dáil had not forgotten about them. While it was not legislation but statements, the issue was discussed and it gave a sense that Members on all sides of the House did not forget the survivors. They felt that as the process was going on, there was a sense of continuity to this entire issue. All that momentum or modicum of goodwill has been absolutely blown out of the water in the past week with the way this Bill has gone through.

I will not repeat what I said last night on Second Stage or what has been said already. However, I am sure other Members of the groups represented here today asked the same question that Deputy Sherlock and I did when going through the list of amendments, namely whether we will reach our amendment. We were already operating under the yoke of this guillotine. Then we hear that even if we do reach amendment X or Y, that it will not be heard. This is a relatively thick amendment sheet. In the Chamber, there are former Ministers and Deputies, mainly from the left but from other sides of the political spectrum. Much thought and reasoned work has gone into these amendments. The article by Dr. Maeve O'Rourke has been referred to by Deputies Bríd Smith and Boyd Barrett. These are sound legally based amendments. It is absolutely shameful that none of them is going to be taken today.

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