Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This was another incredibly difficult week for survivors and their families. We know that many of them are beyond disappointed and are angry about this report. We can talk about the societal and individual failures regarding the hellhole system of mother and baby homes, but we need to stress that churches failed their people. They were given this power by a State and a political system that absolutely failed everybody.

We now need to deliver for those survivors. We also need to remember those who did not survive this inhumane system. People should have immediate access to the information they require. That is a right to a birth certificate and a right to any other information they require to establish their origin and their identity. That needs to be delivered as soon as possible. I am aware that Deputy Funchion, on behalf of Sinn Féin, will be working on this and I demand that the Government follow suit.

In this day and age for anybody who goes through serious trauma, which in many cases is much less than what these women and their families have gone through, it is accepted that we need to ensure dedicated counselling and support services are available. We need to ensure access to a medical card giving them the right to essential health care. That is the least we can do. We need a redress scheme that unlike others provides openness and transparency. We need to ensure that it delivers on what needs to be delivered and that we do not fail those who have already been failed too many times before.

There is disquiet on the burial Bill and its scope needs to be expanded. We accept that there are approximately 182 similar institutions as opposed to the 18 that fell within the remit of this report. The State has failed these women, children and families for too long. We cannot continue to do so.

See this speech in context