Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Sherlock is most welcome. I thank the Minister and welcome this important legislation. It is clear the Minister was very adamant this was done and passed and that we would move swiftly to do so. I commend him in this regard. This legislation has important elements. I welcome them and acknowledge all the Minister's work in this regard. Allowing the postponement of maternity leave for mothers when they are seriously ill is an extremely important move. Like the Minister, I too commend the Irish Cancer Society on the wonderful Leave Our Leave campaign it ran. This legislation is very much in recognition of its work and I acknowledge the society's endeavours.

What is in this Bill will make a big difference to mothers in future by ensuring those who are ill or become ill on the birth of their babies will not lose out on the very precious time with them. It will give such mothers the time and space to get better and then allow them to have that time with their babies afterward. This is very important. I reiterate what Deputy Sherlock said about the mental health aspect. The Minister's opening remarks were not clear regarding the changes referred to in the Seanad and suggested by several Senators in relation to ensuring this element would not be based solely on the need to be an inpatient. Perhaps this has been changed already, but some clarification in this regard is important. We are always encouraging people to get support within their communities where possible and to use community healthcare, etc. We wish to ensure that what is in the legislation will not create a barrier when it comes to a mental health illness and not being able to postpone maternity leave. This is very much what this Bill is about and it would be a shame to see anyone denied for this reason. I reiterate, therefore, what Deputy Sherlock said in this regard.

I also welcome the introduction of maternity leave for Oireachtas Members. It has been long overdue. It is an important element of this Bill and I welcome it. I also acknowledge the Minister's contribution and his commitment to work with Senators in relation to the NDAs. This is important. It is also important that we get those amendments right. The Minister had offered to engage with the Senators who had brought forward legislation previously. It is welcome. Where we are incorporating the issues with NDAs in this Bill, it is important we get it right. This is because it is not stand-alone legislation and is being included in this Bill. This is welcome and fine. I also welcome the addition to the legislation announced this week to put a statutory obligation on the private holders of records concerning Ireland's 20th century institutional and family separation systems. Legislation similar to this Bill was passed in the North of Ireland several years ago and it has resulted in more than 3,000 items being produced to the Public Record Office there. That is important and I welcome the addition in this regard to this Bill.

In relation to this Bill, I thought of the committee meeting we had yesterday in relation to Revised Estimates. We discussed the major underspend of more than €150 million in the context of the mother and baby homes redress scheme. I know the Minister is making every effort to ensure more applications go in under that scheme but even if the application numbers increase, I do not believe all the money there will ever be spent. I think it will just sit there. As this Dáil comes to an end, I take this opportunity to ask the Minister if he would look at those four institutions left out of the redress scheme.

I just met Michael Grant, who was in Temple Hill for almost a year. He was put in there at four weeks old and remained there until he was one year old when he was adopted out via an advertisement in a newspaper. It was said that Temple Hill at that time was notorious for adoptions to America and Mr. Grant believes this was the intention for him. I could not and cannot explain to Michael Grant why Temple Hill was excluded from this scheme. He was put in there as a baby of four weeks old. He had no medical need. Yet he has been told it was a hospital and that is why it was excluded. We do not have much time left in this Dáil, so it is important for the Minister to at least agree to consider this matter and look at it again. The money is there. I do not think the money allocated will be spent. I hope the number of applications to the scheme will increase, but I do not think it is going to increase enough to spend all that money. We have people who have suffered. There is no difference between babies no matter what institution they were placed in and left there. In Mr. Grant's case, that was for a year. He remarked to me as well how his mother had paid 5 shillings a week for that entire year, which was almost like rent to keep him there. Yet there is no recognition for him and I could not tell him why that was or why he was different to any other baby. I refer to how vulnerable he was.

I have not been in this role for very long, but I must say that the hardest part has been meeting those survivors and listening to their stories and what they have been through. I am conscious too in relation to this matter of all the records, and everything else, of the number of people who have gone from this world and will not have the opportunity to gain the recognition and respect they deserve. As this all comes to an end, I ask the Minister, given the large amount of money there and the underspending of more than €150 million, to give consideration to the survivors of the four institutions left out of the redress scheme. This would be something that would enable the Minister to have a real legacy as we come to the end of this Dáil. I just wanted to take this opportunity to raise this issue in the context of discussing the records and ensuring that they are not destroyed and will be maintained, having met Michael Grant and his daughter this afternoon.

Overall, I again commend the Minister on bringing forward this legislation. We and all the Opposition will work with him to ensure this Bill moves as fast as possible to ensure, in particular, the element of the postponement of the maternity leave is not delayed and no other mothers are denied access to maternity leave once they, hopefully, get better and recover from their illnesses. I thank the Minister.

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