Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank everybody who has been involved in the debate. I welcome the fact that the motion is not being opposed. Genuinely, the Minister and Minister of State have heard tonight that people want to work constructively. That is why we brought this motion forward. We want to highlight the issues. I imagine that Government Deputies, like everyone else, were inundated with people asking why they were excluded from the scheme. I do not believe that anybody, whether they stand in opposition or in government, wants to exclude anybody. That is why we brought the motion forward. I genuinely hope that there is sincerity when the Minister says that he wants to work with us and that he is not opposing the motion for that reason. Everybody wants a scheme that will suit and that is fit for purpose.

As already stated, this has to be the Dáil that finally deals with these issues because we have been talking about them for so long. People are literally dying as we are debating them. I reiterate what I said earlier. A lot of this was left at the Minister's door by predecessors, who were probably happy enough to leave it there, but he now has an opportunity to deal with it properly and constructively and listen to people.

The letter that was written to the Minister was mentioned on a number of occasions. Some of it has already been read out but I will read out two final points. We should welcome that we have such experts to whom we can look, particularly when this matter comes to legislation and the pre-legislative scrutiny process. I am hoping that people like these will feed into that process and that we can base that legislation on some of their work. It is excellent, as Deputy Connolly said, that they had the courage to come out with this letter at the weekend. It states:

We are seeking a revision of the recommendations arising from the report, with inclusion of best practice guidelines regarding neuroscience, childhood trauma and attachment. We are willing to work alongside you to see these changes through and want to meaningfully contribute to better practices, rather than simply criticising from the sidelines.

One final point. These women and children have experienced complex trauma and adversity in their lives. Yes, the money will help, there's no doubt about it. But there is also an opportunity to right a wrong, to empathise at a human level and seek to understand. We want to minimise the risk of secondary traumatisation and invalidation of survivors and their families which is most likely where experiences are not heard, respected and redressed. Fundamentally it is about mothers, children and families being seen and heard and having their lived experiences validated. Collectively we can surely strive for this?

That perfectly sums up what we are trying to achieve with this motion. These people are clinical psychologists and therapeutic social workers. They work with children and understand trauma very well. We should take their suggestions on board. I think everybody would agree that this scheme has to be inclusive. It should include all survivors, particularly as regards the medical card aspect. An awful lot of women are being retraumatised by that because they were holding out and waiting for this enhanced medical card. It is not right that they would be denied it. Interim payments should also be looked at and that is being examined in the Six Counties as part of their report.

There will be statements on this matter again on Thursday so we will be discussing the topic again. I thank people for their support on this motion. I send solidarity and support to all survivors who were sent to institutions, anybody who was born there and their families. I know it retraumatises them every time we talk about it but it is important to raise the issues. I am thinking of all the people I have met, and who we have all met.

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