Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)

The last thing we need are people on hunger strike outside the gates of Leinster House, especially people who were incarcerated by this State, some of them as children, for 16 years. I cancelled what I had planned to raise today because I met those people - the three women and one man - yesterday. The things they are looking for are so basic it is embarrassing. These include access to the HAA card for medical care - as the Minister will know because it was raised with him earlier and last week too - and a contribution in terms of pension. Some of these people were taken from their homes while their father was outside and literally kidnapped and put inside an institution because of the church. The State was also paying money to these schools. The Minister said earlier that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, had met them in July. This is October and these people are outside the gates on a hunger strike, and the only thing that will end it is the Minister going out and organising a meeting with them. The Minister knows that. It is not good enough that a few officials went out to meet them. We need to engage with these people and to try to deal with their issues. These people have been failed by the State. An Act was passed here in the summer - I was not in the Dáil at the time - that leaves-----

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