Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The redress scheme needs to be reviewed as a matter of urgency and proper consultation with organisations representing survivors of institutions which oversaw the forced separation of mothers and babies needs to take place immediately. All of those affected need to be treated equally and fairly, regardless of age when separated, whether they were boarded out, what institution they were in or, indeed, how long they spent there. The State has failed women and it has failed the children who were forcibly removed from their mothers. It does not matter what age the person was when they were actually removed from their family; it has had an impact on them. For this redress scheme to exclude children under six months of age is inequitable.

I have heard from many of the survivors of these institutions, including the ones named under the scheme and those who are not, and their stories are heartbreaking. Again, it does not matter what age they were as they have been very much affected throughout their lives. Many survivors will tell us that they may have been adopted by a perfectly lovely family who gave them a good upbringing, but that does not take away the different feelings of separation, sense of loss, the feeling of not being wanted or not knowing who they are or why they were adopted. There has been research that would indicate that children of less than six months of age are affected by separation and, indeed, only people who have been adopted can understand the concept of not having a sense of belonging or knowing exactly who they are.

I cannot understand why children who were boarded out are not included in this redress scheme. Many of those children were nothing short of slaves and were often terribly treated. It was common for farming families to have a boy or a number of boys on the farm to work. While some may have been treated fairly well, many were not and once they reached the age of 14, they left this country forever, and who would blame them? They felt unwanted then and they feel unwanted now after they have been ignored again. There is a need to include everyone in this scheme, no matter what age they were or what institution they were in.

Religious orders and pharmaceutical companies need to finance the redress scheme or to at least contribute to it. Substantive recourse from these bodies needs to be insisted on immediately.

See this speech in context