Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----when as far back as 1927 the State was on notice of the appalling treatment of women and children in homes such as these. Others have spoken on the other issues raised by the commission, including the false registration of births, the dreadful cases of illegal adoptions and the difficulties for many adults who are now trying to establish their right to an identity. Some people have condemned the idea of an amnesty. We should look carefully at that. A partial amnesty, for example, may be possible for birth mothers who, under duress, may have given false information. This makes sense to me and it might enable people to come forward.

I will conclude with a quote from the writer Noelle Brown who was born in the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home and who is in the Gallery today. She said, "I want to feel equal to every other citizen in Ireland, and not remain a reminder of our terrible past." To do that we need to know more about it and uncover, expose and disclose the terrible pain and suffering that so many women and children were forced to endure at the hands of the State and religious orders for so many decades.