Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being present. The core of his opening statement was the last line when he said that these families deserve to know that the health service has learned from what happened to them so it never happens again. I am physically sick to my stomach because a long time ago I was in the situation of helping one of my best friends to bury a baby and it just brings back the scars now. I cannot imagine what those families are going through now. My condolences to all of them and their extended families.

I welcome the Minister's statement and his urgency on this as well. This is not about scoring points. It is a very difficult situation we are in now and a very difficult topic. Even this documentary has opened old wounds for these families. Deputy Gould said earlier that if the families reach out, every one of us can be supportive of them because it is the least they deserve. We as public representatives should help them on that. I welcome the three reviews but again I urge caution as we need these as fast as possible, because these families need closure and we do not want to be going on and on.

I have often said the two most difficult things to do in this country are probably to help people and to tell the truth. It seems to be a very difficult thing to do in this country. I listened to some of the testimonies of families and I commend them on their bravery as well because it is not easy. However, sometimes people have to speak out to ensure these sort of situations do not happen again. How people were treated 20-odd years ago has thankfully changed. People were not ignored, they did not have to go to court and they were not beaten down. I do not want to dwell on it because I was thinking of the Minister's remarks, and we are all sincere and genuine in here, and sometimes we have to pull together and work together. If we can do anything in this House that makes it easier for the families we should. We need to get this done as soon as we can so all these families and their extended families can have closure on this, and at least those old wounds will be closed again. It is a very hard thing and many families will be scarred for life. I refer to the use of counselling, or anything like that, because things evolve. I make an appeal to the families out there that they contact any of us, from any side of the House if they are struggling and we will relay it straight to the Minister. Let us try to work together on this and alleviate the pain for these families as soon as possible.

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