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

I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle's indulgence. It is probably one of the last occasions on which we are going to have the opportunity to discuss this in the Chamber. For those of us that have been dealing with it for the last number of years, , just even in this context, it is important for us to make the final points. First, I will speak to the technical aspects of the amendments. We do not support amendments Nos. 34 to 38, inclusive, on the basis that they refer to the dissolution of the agency and handing the powers over to the Minister at that time. As I said previously, we do not support the dissolution of the agency. There was also talk of five years, which we do not agree with. I think that is far too short. For that reason, we do not support these amendments.

I know other Deputies have done it but I think we cannot say it enough. Any time we have a conversation, whether it is in this Chamber or a discussion in the media in relation to this topic, I never fail to be surprised when another person contacts me, who I have known in some way, shape or form in my life, and I did not know anything about their connection with a mother and baby institution. I think that shows how many people, families and generations are affected. Honestly, it never fails to happen that as soon as we discuss this issue, somebody else gets in touch to tell their story. I want to acknowledge all of those people. I acknowledge, in particular, those who were boarded out, who were literally treated as slaves in many situations, and were treated horrifically. I acknowledge all of those people who spent even a minute in a mother and baby institution, but in particular, because they are being excluded, those who spent less than six months there. As one man said to me earlier - again, somebody I knew but that I did not know had any connection to the mother and baby institutions - a lot of people really were not interested in the money. That was not the motivation for them in any way, shape or form. As we have often said, how do you even put a price on this or how do you start to put a price on it? It is the fact that because the six month threshold was applied, it is kind of like saying to all those who were in mother and baby institutions for six months or less that they do not count. The man told me that the apology that was issued in January 2021 rings hollow for him and so many others.

I want to mention the delays experienced by people accessing their records, because that has come up. As Deputy Boyd Barrett has said, there is a total mismatch. Some people are having great success and others are not getting any information. Some are getting medical information and others are being told they cannot get that or that they have no connection a person who is deceased. I want to briefly tell a story about a person who was adopted from a mother and baby institution, had a sibling adopted and the sibling tragically passed away in an accident when they were in their 20s. This person's adopted parents have now passed away. This person is now trying to contact the mother of the sibling, in case the mother is trying to track this person down, to let them know a little it about their life and give them some pictures. They have been told, in the most recent round of birth information and tracing, that they have no connection and cannot get involved in that process.

There is a major error if that is the case. I wanted to bring that to the attention of the Minister. We had serious issues with the Birth Information and Tracing Act and voted against it. I do not think the situation I outlined should be the case for people who grew up together and who are siblings. They are being told they cannot be involved in the process because there is no blood connection between them. That is wrong. I wanted to have the opportunity to tell that story.

There are many different aspects to these issues and, unfortunately, for people who have survived the institutions, it has been one failure after another. An apology has been offered, but in word only. The most fundamental thing we teach our children about apologies is that it is important not only to say the words but also to change one's actions. I tell my sons if they are consistently doing the same thing that they have to change their actions. One cannot just keep saying, "Sorry". An apology rings hollow unless actions meet it. It is not good enough to say to people that we are sorry and then tell 24,000 of them that they do not count, along with all of the boarded-out who do not count.

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