Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

They were then thrown out by it, often without their babies. In many cases, their babies were robbed from them and sold or left to die. The heart-rending stories of mothers begging for their babies are inhumane and gut-wrenching. Make no mistake: what has been revealed is decades of State-facilitated torture of mothers and children.There is much we should do to recover the truth and restore dignity to those buried and ensure the circumstances which allowed these horrors to take place will not be repeated. There are questions to be answered immediately by the Government. The burial site is now a crime scene. If the Government is to involve An Garda Síochána, what measures have been taken to secure the site? Will the Leader confirm whether the Garda has been informed and asked formally to investigate the deaths? The United Nations has stated the investigation does not meet international standards. Will the terms of reference be amended to allow the Murphy commission to carry out a complete investigation? Will the Leader formally request the Minister for Justice and Equality to publish the second interim report of the commission without delay? These is no reason this should fail to happen today. I would also like to hear from Fianna Fáil which was in government for many of the decades when these atrocities took place. Why was the party so quick to indemnify the religious orders for a total sum of €128 million when multiples of this figure had to be paid out by citizens of the State? Individuals and families who suffered most because of these atrocities must be provided with every resource to obtain truth and justice. The resources provided must reflect the level of atrocity, not only in Tuam but also in mother and baby homes throughout the country.