Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business. I would like an invitation to be extended as a matter of urgency to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, to come to the Chamber to respond to questions on the second interim report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes which was published yesterday and her response to it. The survivor groups waited anxiously for eight months for the report to be published and their experiences to be validated by the State. Yesterday, amid the noise from the water committee and on other issues, they received validation that the lies and their experiences did not matter. They are reeling from the shock and speechless for now at their dismissal in the report. This compounds the pain and emotional distress for those blighted by the cruelty wrought upon them. It is laughable that Judge Murphy found no evidence of abuse because 600 people gave harrowing evidence to the commission, in many instances backed up by medical documents, of the physical, emotional and sexual violence that made up their daily lives. The Minister also talked to survivors, yet she agrees with the commission's statement. The dogs in the street know that abuse of an horrific nature occurred. I have counselled many survivors and I am privy to the extremities of the twisted abuse they suffered. It was a sadistic environment and a reign of terror by religious orders with State support and involvement. The report is an attempt at washing Ireland's dirtiest open secret - our concentration camps, our babies for adoption factories and our slave trade. Look at the length of time it took for the Magdalen women to be given an apology. They were made to beg for years. Even now, what was promised remains to be fulfilled. As the final report is not due to be published until next year, there is still time to extend the terms of reference. Survivors have the right to know who they are, where they came from and who their people are. They have the right to know why the adoptees are treated differently in the report. Is there a hierarchy in Ireland's concentration camps? There was a recommendation that there be an amnesty from prosecution in order that those who were involved would give evidence. They should be subpoenaed and not treated with kid gloves. Survivors have asked me to ask the Houses and the Minister responsible where is the decency and empathy and where the moral compass lies in determining whether heinous wrongs will be investigated and addressed. Who in this Chamber believes the State has not been implicated in the savage cruelty inflicted, the slavery and torture of very vulnerable women, girls and infants? The survivors I have mentioned all seek truth, justice and accountability. They want more than tea and sympathy. The terms of reference of the commission must be extended. Will the Leader ask the Minister to come to the House to address these issues?