Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House as I appreciate it is a busy time for her. As has been said, I would appreciate it if she could come back on a fairly regular basis to report to us on this matter. I acknowledge and thank Senator Boyhan for sharing his personal experience with us. It was very powerful and I acknowledge what he brings to the House with his own experience.

Once again investigative journalists and campaign groups like the Voice of Irish First Mothers and the Adoption Rights Alliance have helped to highlight the issue. Much of the initial concern surrounding the records was raised many years ago in committees of the Oireachtas and correspondence to Ministers and other Members of this and the other House. A full investigation is now needed and a sampling exercise will not do. The investigation must now ensure that no affected person is left behind. This is an all-island and international matter. I spoke on the Order of Business earlier about the trauma of being deprived of one's identity. We need guarantees that all institutions will be included in any review, as the revelations so far only relate to one such institution.

I thank the Minister as I know she is approaching this from a very sincere perspective. We need to get this right and ensure nobody is left behind.