Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The publication of the report into the mother and baby homes marks another moment of truth for our State and for our people. Its publication is an occasion to acknowledge the profound wrong visited upon the Irish women and their children who were placed in these institutions and too often left with only grief as a companion. It is an occasion to acknowledge, as the Government, the role the State played in this and to apologise for that, and to acknowledge the neglect, the hurt caused, and, in many cases, the terrible toll this has taken on so many of our citizens across decades. It is an occasion to acknowledge also the strength of those who suffered in the institutions and how for generations they endured, and still endure, the awful weight of their experiences within those walls. It is an occasion to acknowledge that it is their refusal to be silent or to be silenced, their campaigning and their commitment to the truth that has brought us to this day.

With the publication of this report, we are affirming their stories and their truth. We are ensuring that their testimonies are heard, acknowledged and understood. We are affirming clearly, and in the strongest possible terms, that they were wronged and that they wronged nobody. Today is a chance to ask for forgiveness for the failings of the Irish State, failings that were repeated over decades and that had the most horrendous consequences for our most vulnerable citizens.

I would like to acknowledge the work of the commission of investigation, its chair Judge Yvonne Murphy, and the commissioners, Professor Mary Daly and Dr. William Duncan, and their staff. I particularly like to thank all those who, often at great personal difficulty, gave their evidence or their personal accounts to the commission.

The report paints a portrait of a stifling, oppressive and deeply misogynistic culture in Ireland prior to the 1970s, which was ruthlessly reinforced by prevailing attitudes within the church and State. This directly and repeatedly led to women being deprived of choice and agency in their own affairs through coercion, shame and family obligation. Among the starkest declarations by the commission are those concerning the tragic fates of many of the children born in the institutions. The disturbing fact established by the commission is that for children born of mothers who entered these institutions prior to 1960 "the homes did not save the lives of 'illegitimate' children; in fact, they appear to have significantly reduced their prospects of survival". The commission affirms that "infant mortality rates were known to local and national authorities at the time" but the institutions of the State turned a blind eye to them.

In the report, the State was often defined by its absence. Most damningly, during the periods of appallingly high infant mortality within these institutions, the report notes that "There is no evidence that unmarried mothers were ever discussed at Cabinet during the first 50 years after independence".

The report demonstrates that for much of the period it covers the response of State, church and society was one of gross neglect. The report exposes the social, political, and institutional structures that created, colluded in and condoned such a system. These structures, and the attitudes that were fostered by them, generated a fiercely conservative society. This permitted the State to maintain the status of illegitimacy as a status that consigned children so designated to both moral and legal isolation up until 1987, something that the commission describes as an egregious breach of human rights. Where there were concerns brought to Government, those in power acted only to stifle them.

Alice Litster was an inspector for the Department of Local Government from 1927 to 1957. The commission's report states that Ms Litster tried valiantly to have conditions in the institutions improved. It was Ms Litster who wrote the first criticism of mother and baby homes by a civil servant, criticisms that were subsequently watered down by departmental officials. It is from her reports on the institutions that much of the commission's information about them in the decades after independence is drawn. She highlighted the high number of children being sent for adoption in the US. The report makes clear that acts of responsibility from those in power were notable for their rarity, particularly in the early days of the State. As such, Ms. Litster's efforts over many years to shine a light on the failings of these institutions should be recognised and commended.

The report contains a number of important recommendations and I am committed to ensuring that the Government's response to these will mark a profound transformation not only in the State's engagement with survivors but also in its supports for them. The relationship of trust between the State and mothers and adoptees has been broken. In bringing forward this series of actions, the Government seeks to start the process of rebuilding this relationship. The Cabinet has adopted a whole-of-government response to the commission's report. This contains 22 actions based on eight themes. These themes acknowledge the breadth of the issues that the commission has raised and that mothers and adoptees have spoken about to me and colleagues. The process of this response begins with the State apology made by the Taoiseach in the House today. Central to the response is access to personal information. Legislation on information and tracing is being advanced this year, centred on a person's right to information about themselves and founded on GDPR principles.

The Department is working to put in place mechanisms whereby survivors and adoptees can seek personal information via GDPR when the commission transfers to my Department at the end of February. Our response contains a package of health supports, including a form of enhanced medical card for anyone who spent more than six months in one of these institutions, and counselling services. Legislation to allow for the dignified exhumation of the site in Tuam and providing for DNA identification will be brought for pre-legislative scrutiny soon.

We recommit to establishing a national memorial and record centre related to institutional trauma, engaging with survivors regarding its location and to requiring that Departments and State bodies prioritise ensuring that relevant original files are made publicly accessible. The Government has made a commitment to introduce a restorative recognition scheme to provide financial recognition. The details of this scheme will now be worked on by an interdepartmental group which will bring forward proposals for Government by the end of April.

I know that these actions, either alone or combined, cannot undo the immense hurt that has been done to mothers and adoptees nor can they fully recompense for the impact of the State's failings on individuals. They represent the State seeking to start the process of rebuilding a relationship with those that it has so badly let down. It is essential that the religious congregations, charitable organisations and Catholic and Church of Ireland primates also begin the work of rebuilding trust, both in terms of apologies to mothers and adoptees but also in terms of concrete measures like contributing to the restorative recognition fund and making institutional papers available. I have written to them and sought meetings with them in this respect.

The events described in the report took place over a wide span of time. Some occurred decades ago, others happened very much within living memory. Irrespective of when the events happened, the trauma they have caused is very much alive. They form a scar for so many of our citizens in Ireland today. Equally, the events form a scar for many who were sent abroad to be adopted or who themselves fled our country following the manner in which they had been treated. I know that this diaspora, abroad through no choice of their own, are listening closely today. To all those who carry that trauma, this report will bring conflicting emotions. They have waited a long time - too long - for this recognition. I understand that there exists very little trust between the State and those who were so grievously wronged. It was the State that shattered that trust by failing to live up to its most fundamental duties of protection.

The publication of this report does not end this story. My hope is that it will mark the first step in a new relationship where we will reject the policy of denial as the State's response to grievance, where the State will engage with empathy, humility and generosity with those who were wronged and where we will strive to rebuild the trust so grievously shattered.

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