Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the publication of the report into the mother and baby homes. Its publication brings to the surface the many dark and extremely oppressive, depressing and aggressive actions of many of these so-called homes. This report is an important document which gives voice to the experiences of some of the most vulnerable in our society across many decades. The survivors showed immense courage in giving their testimony. We know that almost 9,000 children died in the institutions under investigation, which was about 15% of all the children who were in the care of those institutions. This is a dark stain on the record of our State, the religious congregations and the society, which must be put right. The publication of this report is the first step in that process. It is an important one. We must ensure that the many recommendations from it are seen through.

I welcome the Taoiseach’s unequivocal apology on behalf of the State. I also note the apologies issued by just some of the religious congregations to date. The apology is a key part of the 22 actions the Government is taking in response to the commission’s report. The Government has committed to a comprehensive response to the commission’s recommendations, rooted in a survivor-centred approach. This comprehensive response to the report is centred on eight themes, including a survivor-centred approach, the State apology and providing access to personal information. My colleague, Deputy Cathal Crowe, has already referred to the birth certificates. The rights of the women and their children to, and their need for, that information is crucial for health and personal reasons, as the Minister is aware. Other themes of the Government response include the archives, which we have discussed with many people over recent months, the databases, to which the Minister referred in his opening remarks, education and research, memorialisation, redress and providing a dignified burial for all the children who died in these institutions.

I acknowledge the work and dedication of Catherine Corless and, equally, the five-year work of the commission, led by Judge Yvonne Murphy, supported Dr. William Duncan and Professor Mary Daly, in preparing this report. It is also important to acknowledge feedback from survivors. They have heartfelt and legitimate concerns about some aspects of this report that must be addressed, and soon. I would welcome a commitment from the commission to engage with survivors and survivor organisations in this regard. I ask that the Minister would clarify and confirm, perhaps in his closing remarks, that survivors who want a paper copy of the full report will be facilitated. For too long, these people have been left in the dark when it comes to information. It is their own information and it is imperative, as I said earlier, that the basic and simple action of access to the initial compilation of survivors' stories in this report and in the investigation must be made available to them.

The report considers a number of institutions, some of which operated in my own constituency of Dún Laoghaire, including the Magdalen laundry at St. Patrick’s refuge, Crofton Road, which operated until the 1960s when it became St. Michael’s Hospital and convalescent home, the Cottage Home on Tivoli Road, Racefield House on Lower Mounttown Road, Smyly's Home on the Monkstown Road, Bartres Children's Home in Kill O’ the Grange, known as the Grange Linden convalescent home, Blackrock and now part of an apartment complex, St. Joseph’s Orphanage on Tivoli Road, and the Bird’s Nest on York Road. Many of these buildings are familiar to the locals of Dún Laoghaire, but the history of what happened at many of these institutions may have been known only to survivors and their families. There are other homes and institutions that fell outside of this report and these must be examined too. No woman or child should be left out of any future investigation or redress.

This report rightly puts the testimony and the stories of the survivors on the historical record. It is important that these testimonies are recorded for future generations. All religious congregations of all denominations and State institutions and organisations, both local and national, have a part to play in the reconciliation for these women and their children. The publication of this report is a first step on a very long road of national reflection, redress and reconciliation along with atonement for the wrongs and injustices committed against the most vulnerable and innocent in our society.

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