Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. Before I continue, I acknowledge how engaged the Minister and his staff have been. He listened to families, survivors and the wider community and made changes in this legislation that were recommended to him.

We had a very lengthy process at committee but it was good that we did so. The Chairman, Deputy Funchion, and committee members from all parties worked extremely hard. We were honoured to listen to the stories we heard and we were all affected by them . There is no question about it. I know that when we left that particular committee, we went home and thought back on what happened, and it was very hard. It is important today that we have really listened to the voices of the survivors.

We have waited a long time for this legislation and now it is vital that we see it pass. Relatives are ageing. That is putting it bluntly, but they are. The babies in Tuam particularly have already been left too long. The site at Tuam is complicated; probably one of the most complicated in Europe. The Minister’s introduction into this Bill of intervention to be carried out by professionals, in line with international standards and best practice so as to maximise what is scientifically achievable with regard to the identification and return of remains, gives us the best chance of reunification.

We must see this Bill pass quickly and enacted so we can begin the process. We need this lawful basis for a forensic excavation, recovery and analysis of remains at the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tuam, undertaken to international standards. We will need this at other sites too and this Bill will allow that.

A number of changes have been made to the legislation since the general scheme was published to ensure it does not restrict any further investigations elsewhere. This is so important. I raised my concerns regarding the restrictions on the jurisdiction of the coroner in the general scheme. I am glad to have seen it removed entirely. That is important. The Bill will now require forensic excavation, recovery and analysis of remains to support, where possible, establishing circumstances and cause of death. This was a chief concern for many witnesses who appeared before committee.

This Bill will allow DNA-based identification to be undertaken to reunite families with the remains of their loved ones. While this is complicated, broadening the contributors who can actually come forward to grandparents and aunts is really welcome. A parent or a sibling can still request that only first-order relatives can be considered but the director can assess these requests now and make a decision so that the children have the best possible chance of having a dignified burial, service and resting place with the family that was denied to them when they died. That is so important.

We all know the excavation, recovery and identification process will be extremely complex because of the numbers, the ages of the children, the manner in which the remains lay and, of course, the passage of time. This legislation allows that to happen for those babies, however. I will support this wholeheartedly for the families, the communities who mourned them and this country to begin making amends.

Again, I am honoured to have been part of that committee. This has to happen really quickly. As I said, people are ageing and they need to know. It is important now that they know we have been listening to them. I thank the Minister. This has been very hard for all of us. We are moving to a good place where we can now give people the answers for which they have been looking.

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