Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I speak today I am mindful that it is Ash Wednesday, a day of repentance when Christians confess their sins and profess their devotion to God. I do not want to make this religious but I am acutely aware of the suffering that the families of the victims of those who have been buried have endured over the decades and that they still endure. The Minister acknowledged that and he understands it and we need to put that to an end as quickly as possible, while also recognising the suffering of the babies who were neglected and the babies who suffered at the hands of the State and the religious institutions. It must never happen again.

Above anything else, I want to acknowledge Catherine Corless and to express my deep gratitude to her for doing what she has done, for being Catherine Corless and for being the tenacious person she is. She is dedicated to justice and to getting justice for victims and families and without her, none of us would be standing here today. I also want to acknowledge all those who have contacted me and other Deputies individually and I acknowledge the families who have shared their stories with me. It is probably one of the most humbling experiences I have had as a politician. I want to acknowledge Sheila outside the gate, who many of us will know here from speaking to here every time she is here. She was out there in the rain today and she has suffered and tried to get the stories of victims across.

I welcome this Bill and we have an opportunity here to do the right thing. There are lots of good things in this Bill and I thank the Minister for that. I thank my colleague, Deputy Funchion, for the work she has done on behalf of Sinn Féin in the committee. Everybody has worked together to make this legislation what it needs to be. The families need to be front and centre of it and some of them have concerns. Some of those concerns have been addressed in the Minister’s contribution earlier on and I thank him for that but there are still some things outstanding such as the 20 m rule that was acknowledged. The Minster will understand that Bills can be legalistic and that they have to be written in a certain way. We need to make every effort to explain every line of the Bill. Some will be concerned at the number of times the word "may" is used in the Bill. Trust needs to be built up again and we need to listen to families at this point and whatever amendments need to be put in must be put in. One person who contacted me said that as this is the legislation that will be there for generations to come, we need to make sure that the families, victims and survivors are front and centre of all of that.

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