Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

This legislation is long overdue but it is incredibly flawed, specifically, in how it proportions redress based on the time a person has spent in an institution. That is obvious to anybody who reads this legislation. Who is the Minister to determine that someone who has spent 179 days in an institution is any less deserving of compensation than someone who has spent 181 days in an institution? It is absurd.

From speaking to survivors, it is clear to me that much of the abuse occurred when they were farmed out or boarded out from their homes. In many cases, people who were born in mother and baby homes were sent to local families where they were often ill-treated. They were required to work hard on the farm without pay and with no prospect of inheritance, in atrocious conditions, sleeping in sheds, sometimes with animals, and eating their dinner separately from the biological children in the family. This is not to mention the stories of physical, emotional and sexual abuse of the worst kinds that were experienced by so many, or the societal attitudes at the time that so many of these survivors had to deal with. They were deemed by many people to be second-class citizens, an attitude that was certainly the case in Tuam and that was reinforced, in many ways, in the State's education system.

Catherine Corless often talks about how the phrase "home babies" was used to separate other children in the national school, and how children who misbehaved in school were often treated with the statement, "If you do not stop, I will put you sitting with the home babies." This Bill makes no provision for persons who might have left an institution early but were placed by the State in settings where they were still abused, still suffered and were still othered.

I thank my parliamentary assistant, Mr. Luke Silke, who hails from Tuam and who has put a lot of work into drafting these amendments that seek to write the wrongs and injustices that are clear in this legislation. I sincerely hope the Government and Minister will listen to the debate and that he meant what he said when he told me he would listen to and take into consideration what we have to say.

An amendment pertaining to the Glenamaddy home has been omitted from the Bill. This institution is long closed but it is possible that some survivors are still alive. Even if there are not, it is important that we recognise the lives that were spent or lost there. I am thinking of Mary Crowe, who died from TB 100 years ago today in Glenamaddy at the age of one. She was one of more than 50 children who died between 1922 and 1925 in Glenamaddy for whom Mr. Silke has obtained a death certificate.

Some of the amendments we are seeking to bring forward relate to the time restrictions. Basically, we want to see a situation where applicants to the scheme are granted a decision within a period of three months and in a speedy fashion. Many of these people are of a certain age and need to have these decisions made fast. Within one year of the application, they should be given access to all their files and documents. That needs to happen. We cannot seek to withhold information from people. The purpose of these amendments is to ensure timely redress to people who need it.

I have also tabled amendments that will seek to ensure that the scheme, when it is up and running, will seek to initiate and make contact with the survivors rather than just relying on survivors to initiate contact with the scheme. If the State is truly sorry for the way it has treated survivors, it would be actively reaching out to them and asking people for help in the process of redress rather than just sitting back and waiting for people to make contact.

I want to mention a very special lady today. Ms Sheila O'Byrne gave birth in an institution. She cycles regularly to the gates of the Dáil in rain, hail or snow with little handwritten placards and stands outside to hold this House to account and ensure there is justice for her and others like her. She is a fierce and formidable woman with a very big heart. I urge other Deputies to stop to chat to her if they get an opportunity because there is much they can learn from her.

Throughout the history of the State, the survivors of the mother and baby homes were made to feel that their lives, due to the circumstances in which they were conceived, were of less value than the lives of others. This is wrong and this needs to be refuted wholeheartedly, as many times as we can. All human life is equal. They have as much right to this country as anybody else. They have as much right to life as anyone else. They have as much right to the Dáil and to justice as anyone else and anybody who has implied otherwise, at any stage of their lives, is absolutely wrong. The State must never stop apologising for how it has treated survivors. In reality, it needs to go beyond an apology. It needs to provide recompense for the wrongs that have been inflicted on these individuals. It must be done fairly and with a little bit of humanity. That is sorely missing from many aspects of this Bill. It is a shocking situation. It is deeply frustrating for the likes of myself. We tabled nine amendments, seven of which have been ruled out of order. Seven logical, reasonable, common-sense solutions to help have been ruled out of order, and I believe that is an injustice too.

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