Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are many issues to raise but, along with many others, I really need to raise the Tuam babies case and mother and baby institutions. Tomorrow is International Women’s Day and to gel it all together I was at the Flowers for Magdalenes event on Sunday. This is the sixth time we have hosted the event. I listened to the stories of the women. One woman said: "They took my hair; they took my human rights; they took my clothes; they took my name; but they never took my spirit." It was shocking. It was tearful. The crowds are growing year on year. People are looking for their children and families. Their search goes on. The women from the Magdalen institutions are elderly. Some are in psychiatric hospitals or what we used to call asylums. A handful remain there. They are unable to speak and have different disabilities. They do not know what is going on and do not know they are entitled to redress. The HSE needs to act fast. I have been banging my head against a brick wall in this regard for a long time.

I was in court yesterday with the Magdalen women, including the women who lost their children in Tuam and Cork. It was horrific. One such woman is 55 years of age. Therefore, it did not happen in our parents' time; it happened almost in our generation. She was forced to give her child away. She found him and they were reunited two years ago. Each of the 25 women in court yesterday have suffered mental health issues. They need protection and answers. We do not need procrastination. The man bringing the case against the HSE is searching for his baby sister, who was in Tuam. He does not know whether his baby sister is alive or buried in the graveyard there.

The wealth of the Catholic Church in this nation is relevant. At the inception of this country our souls and spirits were handed over collectively to those in the church so that they could do as they wanted with us. What they wanted to do with us, they did. They took us and stripped away, especially in the case of the poor. They attacked and hated poverty. They attacked women and children. We really need equality rather than simply talking about it.