Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the State apology by the Taoiseach. I also welcome the words of the Tánaiste and the Minister. These apologies have come today, but they are long overdue. I also welcome the announcement of an apology by the Sisters of Bon Secours earlier, particularly regarding the mother and baby home in my home town of Tuam. I also welcome the apology made today by the Archbishop of Tuam, Michael Neary.

I have not yet read the full report because it is impossible to read a report like this without taking bits of it at a time. It is so horrific. I am aware, however, of some of the harrowing accounts because I know some of the people now living in our community who were babies in that home. What they have told us has always been the truth, but it is only now that it is beginning to seep in that it really is the horrible truth. I acknowledge as well the great efforts made by former Deputy and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, in her work during the previous Government. Her name has not been mentioned here today at all.

I acknowledge the work, commitment and determination of historian and local person, Catherine Corless, for her work in exposing the facts about the Tuam mother and baby home, as it was called, and in driving this process forward to this day where we now have this report from the commission. I also want to pay my respects to the residents of the mother and baby home in Tuam, as well to the neighbours living around that site who over the years have maintained it and the grave as a sacred place and a place of worship.

Today is the day for saying we are sorry, but it is also the day where we give political leadership. Individually, we must give leadership and there are several things we must do to ensure today does not pass as just a day of talking. We must pass legislation regarding access to records and that must be done immediately. We also need the creation of a national archive of institutional, adoption and other care-related records. We need the creation of a crime investigation unit and a human rights-compliant coroner's inquest. A redress scheme must be put in place; it must be simple and give direct benefit and restitution to those who suffered so much over such a long time. It cannot be something which will be dragged out and full of paperwork and bureaucracy. These people need help and they need it now. We must also ensure that each former resident of a home receives a medical card for life. I welcome what the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister have said in that regard earlier.

The partial leaking of the report last weekend was a grotesque injustice to the people who suffered so much. For somebody to try to curry favour with certain elements of the national media at the expense of the residents of these homes is despicable. We may have an investigation regarding what happened, but we also need to see action and accountability. I was talking to P.J., one of my constituents, this morning. He is a former resident and survivor of the home in Tuam. He made his witness statement to the commission but when sought records from Tusla, they could not find them. Somehow the records showed up in December, after the commission report had been concluded. P.J. asked me to ask the Minister to find out from the commission whether it had his records and, if it had, why he was not told.

We are starting today on a journey of reparation. We are all on the same road. I do not believe that any politician or anybody should be divisive on this issue. We have much work to do and we must do it fast. We must rebuild trust and help these people. I welcome the fact that the Minister brought in counselling services in advance of the publication of the report. However, most people involved with the webinar held yesterday were dissatisfied that they could not ask questions. They have many questions and they need answers. Without a shadow of a doubt, we cannot push them aside any longer.

I finish by stating that if we allow the direct provision system to continue operating in the way it is, we will end up with another commission of inquiry in 20 or 30 years' time and we will again be saying that this was how things were. We must ensure that we learn not only about the past but also that we prepare for the future and to get things right today.

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