David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and very much welcome the establishment of this independent statutory commission of investigation into the mother and baby homes scandal. We commend the efforts of survivors and campaigners who have helped force the Government to change direction and adopt this position, including the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors and historian Catherine Corless, who has been mentioned by a number of Senators.

I am informed that the Minister will lead the process and that the terms of reference of the commission are yet to be agreed. People North and South expect the Minister and Government to get this process right and I hope that they do exactly that. The process must, therefore, be open and transparent from start to finish and command full public confidence throughout. Sinn Féin is urging the Government to ensure that both the resolution to formally establish the commission and the terms of reference are brought before the Dáil and Seanad. This should be done with urgency and as soon as is humanly possible.

Any terms of reference must be comprehensive and include the Protestant homes, the Magdalen laundries and county homes by way of an open list to give the commission both scope and flexibility. Sinn Féin would argue that the commission must be cross-Border and that any international dimensions should be accounted for. This will require cross-jurisdictional and international co-operation. We have suggested eight broad thematic areas for investigation. In our view, emphasis should be placed on findings regarding the following: statutory responsibility; regulation and inspection regimes; potential violations by individuals, private or public bodies; and the meeting of State obligations under domestic and international law since the founding of the State since 1922. We also believe that the commission's proceedings should be held in both public and private hearings based on survivor choice. It is imperative that survivors are provided with legal support and that all documentation and evidence currently at risk of destruction is secured urgently by the commission.

The final report's findings must also be published. These critical matters require urgent clarification from the Minister and Government. The urgency regarding getting this process cannot be overstated. Let us therefore come together to agree a process which all concerned can stand over with pride. We note that this issue has cross-Border and international dimensions and the terms of reference and appointments to the commission must take these issues into account. The purpose of the investigation should be to recover and establish the truth, identify any violations of the rights of citizens and their causes, locate responsibility and propose effective remedy. In particular, it should identify if there are persons, institutions, corporations and State agencies which are culpable in any violations and make recommendations to hold them to account as appropriate. It would be our preference for this commission be established by way of stand-alone legislation. We are concerned that there are shortcomings in the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 and that unless these are overcome, they could hamper the credibility and effectiveness of the commission of investigation. We strongly urge the Minister to reconsider whether the terms of the 2004 Act are in all ways appropriate or whether separate legislation is required. We stress that all commission members need to be fully independent of Government and all other public or private bodies under investigation. We note that this independence is stipulated under section 9 of the 2004 Act.

The cost to the State of adequate representation is an important factor but cannot be allowed to outweigh the right to effective representation to ensure justice and the restoration of dignity to victims and survivors. The terms of reference should include, but not be limited to, all mother and baby homes regardless of the denomination, including Bethany Homes and other Protestant-run institutions, the Magdalen laundries and county homes. We believe the terms of reference should specify in their subject scope matters such as the following: how these institutions were established and run; how the women and children came to reside or be born there; the numbers involved; infant, child and adult mortality and morbidity rates; adoption, nursing, fostering and boarding out practices; vaccine and any other clinical or medical trials and medical experimentation; forced labour and incarceration of unmarried girls and women; general conditions in the institutions; the burial practices and burial occasions of unmarried mothers and their children; and cross-Border and international movements of pregnant women and their children. Particular attention should be paid to the role of the State in funding or contracting for services from the institutions. The scope of the commission should extend from the foundation of the State in 1922 to the present day so the Government must take immediate action to secure access to the relevant sites and documentation and make the obstruction of access to and destruction of such information and documentation a serious criminal offence.

There can be no repeat of the indemnity for contribution deal struck by the former Minister for Education with the religious orders in the case of the residential institutions. The State must ensure that the orders and other institutions are held accountable and that they make a contribution commensurate with their level of responsibility as found by the commission and contribute to the costs of the investigation.