Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Today’s apology is welcome. It is decades overdue and comes after decades of silence, shame and misogynistic control and abuse perpetrated and facilitated by State authorities, the church and Government after Government.

Ireland’s history of using shame and fear to control women and their bodies is truly horrifying in its scale and impact. In 2018, I began knocking on doors for the abortion rights referendum in Cork South-West. I did not know what to expect or what kind of reception we would get. In every town and village, came story after story. Women, often in their 70s and 80s would stand outside and tell us about the girls and women who disappeared from their lives, such as their best friend from school, their cousin or their aunt who were abandoned, shamed and left at the mercy of the State and the church.

On those same nights, we would knock on another door to hear: “But if this comes in, what’s to stop the young ones" and "What’ll stop them from sleeping around every weekend and getting an abortion every Monday?” It is still here and has not left us. This is the fear of girls and women and this desire to control their lives and their bodies. The “we” narrative around this report needs to be addressed. Yes, society played a part, but this abuse was clearly facilitated and carried out by a powerful State and a powerful religious order which tolerated no opposition. This was a country that virtually outlawed sex outside marriage. This was public policy. There was no sex education, a ban on contraception, no access to abortion and virtual immunity for rapists.

Pregnancies were inevitable and when they happened, the girls and women were left with nowhere else to go except these institutions. In these, the worst forms of abuse and neglect were systematically carried out. The scale of infant deaths is incomprehensible; it borders on mass murder. Not only was the State aware of this, but it continued to fund and manage the homes and the religious orders profited from this horrendous cruelty and systemic abuse. That an organisation which facilitated the worst kinds of human rights violations imaginable still has any hand, act or part in our schools and hospitals is deeply disturbing.

Then, the Government Departments and church officials denied these realities, further abused survivors and opposed any chance of justice until the discovery of almost 600 babies buried in a septic tank in Tuam forced the Government to establish the commission.

There are no words for this cascade of misogyny, abuse and criminality perpetuated against women and their children. The last thing the survivors need is inadequate apologies from more men in positions of power. They deserve justice, genuine contrition from church and State and complete and unreserved redress. The shame used to control and incarcerate women and children for the so-called crime of getting pregnant was endemic in our society and was misplaced. It is time we re-direct the shame to where it belongs. Shame on the people who committed these horrendous crimes, on the religious orders which oversaw it and on successive Governments for facilitating and condoning it.

If we are to respond genuinely to this report, we must ensure survivors are given redress, that justice is vigorously pursued and that the people and organisations who committed these crimes are pursued and prosecuted. Shame on us all if we settle for anything less.

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