Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)

Our starting point must be to accept a number of facts, many of which have been laid out already. We need to acknowledge the suffering and bravery of the victims and survivors, some of whom are in the Gallery. It is humbling to hear their stories and how they continue on despite all that has happened to them. We must also acknowledge that they were failed not only by the church and the institutions but also by the State. Government after government tolerated this brutal situation for decades. The purpose of what we are doing today is to allow the State to right in a very small way the wrong it did or allowed to be done to its citizens. That is not in any to detract from the culpability of the individuals who perpetrated these horrendous crimes and the organisations and church which defended and hid those criminals. The legacy of the religious orders in these institutions is one of sexual, physical and mental abuse. The State compounded the pain and damage to our most vulnerable children by its decision to turn a blind eye to what was happening.

In that regard I record my party's disappointment at the State's refusal to acknowledge its role in the abuses that took place in Bethany Home and the Magdalene Laundries, and therefore the rights of victims of those institutions. In opposition, the Labour Party took the position that the survivors of those institutions should be included in the redress process. We are disappointed that many other victims are excluded under this legislation. Those victims, who for very understandable reasons of mistrust or fear did not avail of the current redress board, should not be excluded under this scheme. That would be a terrible injustice and we have tabled amendments to correct this on Committee Stage. Survivors living outside the State are still Irish citizens who are owed compensation from the State and should not be excluded. Their needs must be met regardless of where they are in the same way that those survivors living at home are entitled to have their needs met. These people account for 40% of all claims and must be included.

When the Ryan report was published in 2009, Irish centres in Britain were inundated with inquiries from people wanting to apply for redress. Many people who had lost all contact with Ireland knew nothing about the redress board and were unaware they had a right to apply for recompense as an acknowledgement of the hurt they had suffered. There were serious problems with informing people of their entitlements under the redress board, and publishing advertisements in a handful of Irish and British-based newspapers failed to take into account the wider diaspora spread throughout the globe who were unaware they could apply to the board. According to Right of Place at least 150,000 children and teenagers went through orphanages, industrial schools and centres for young offenders, with many suffering abuse at the hands of religious orders and others in charge of their care. An estimated 100,000 left Ireland afterwards with at least half believed to have travelled to the US. However, it is believed that only a fraction of those are aware of the existence of the redress board. Earlier I mentioned that the State compounded the pain and damage of their most vulnerable children by the decision to turn a blind eye to what was happening. The State, these Houses, the Minister and all of us here cannot now turn our backs on those survivors who are excluded from the fund through the stringent eligibility criteria.

These survivors have waited an incredibly long time for justice, or at least for recognition, and the legislation needs to be tightened to ensure it does not become another excuse for drawing out the suffering any longer. That means inserting time limits within which the State must act and in which the religious organisations must pay up or face fines and additional costs. Sinn Féin believes the idea of means testing is wrong and we will table amendments to rectify the injustices not addressed in the legislation. The aim of the amendments will be to make it an inclusive fit for purpose fund that will help survivors, wherever they are, to benefit from the possibility of redress. This is the last chance we as representatives of the people have to stand up for those in the State who have been let down in the past. The fund can be a symbolic way of addressing the past but if it is not a practical fund for aiding survivors, wherever they are, and their families, it will be a failure. Eligibility is confined to survivors who received an award from the redress board or an award following a court decision or a settlement who would have otherwise received an award from the redress board. Sinn Féin cannot support the Bill because in our view this definition of eligibility is not good enough. People deserve better after all these years and all their suffering.