Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Having read the accounts of women and men in this report and having spoken and listened to survivors, it never ceases to shock me that a State could treat its most vulnerable with such little humanity. We must now listen in a way that shows humility and is honest. We must represent the most vulnerable and continue to adjust our response and the actions that we take based on what we hear. I thank those who have laid bare their own personal stories and honour those who have been silent and silenced.

No one could read this report and not see abuse and neglect. Babies died at an unprecedented level. There were 9,000 known deaths in institutions, which was between two and four times the level of that of the general population, the Sean Ross mother and baby home being one of the worst.

Some institutions were clearly worse than others and this report demonstrates that those run by the State were among the worst. Women were incarcerated in a system that made no attempt to show kindness or make amends for past abuses. It shamed and debased them and their children. They were put there by a State that did not provide them with alternatives, prosecute rape or provide those women with contraceptives. The State acted in a way that was deferential to a church that used its power - and was allowed to use its power - to abuse others.This power buried itself deep in an education that did not give people the tools to fight back. It was right that the Government apologised on behalf of the State and I join in that apology on behalf of the Green Party in the Seanad. It is also right that there have been apologies before relating to many reports laid before these Houses. Beyond apologies, reports and listening, the Government must also take action. I believe that the Minister is doing this and has been doing this since he took office. Almost all of those with whom I have been in contact believe the same. We will all, the Minister included, be judged on the action that we now take.

Tuam is highlighted over and over again in this report. Nearly 1,000 people died. As we are all aware, they were shown no dignity in death. Their families continue to have no closure, with scant records and no tracing having been carried out. Their conditions were among the worst in the country. This was an institution run by both nuns and by the local authority. When Galway County Council meets on 25 January, I expect to hear a full apology and about how it will attempt to make amends. It held its council meetings on those grounds. No one can tell me that those politicians did not know of the appalling conditions. This report shows that, at the time, the high death rates were known. I expect the same of other councils, particularly Westmeath County Council.

Last week, as I listened to Galway Bay FM for three hours while survivors told their stories, an apology came from the Sisters of Bon Secours in Galway. I believe it was an honest apology and it demonstrated a level of acknowledgement never expressed before. It was well received locally. It must be acknowledged, however, that it was not replicated to the same extent across the country. Just as an apology from the State is a small part of what must now happen, so is an apology from the church. It must step up and do what it preaches. It must pay survivors back with hard cash and it must beg for forgiveness as we do. Some say that it was only a fraction of those in the church, but the church was a monolith and all of those now in the church must take responsibility, just as all of those who represented the State must take responsibility as the ultimate guardian of the common good. The State and the church knew of the deaths and neglect inside those walls and knew that children were boarded out, in many cases to be abused and to be used as slave labour. In other family homes, they found kindness that was missing in the mother and baby homes and county homes, and those stories are also eloquently expressed.

A survivor-centred approach is key in the Government's response. The report made a number of recommendations. I can see that the Minister and the Government are stepping beyond that and they must do so. The Government must see the report as putting down on paper the testimonies of those who spoke and honouring them but it must go beyond the recommendations. I will join with everyone in ensuring that that happens.

I will mention a few of the 22 actions that the Government has set out and which were agreed by Cabinet last week. For many years, the survivors have looked for a medical card just as survivors from other institutions have been granted one. I welcome that this will happen and will look with interest at the recommendations that come back. I sincerely hope that it will be tailored to the needs of women and their children who were kept in these institutions. The report identified three groups who would qualify. The Government's actions will go beyond that. The restorative recognition scheme or redress scheme, more broadly, is to be welcomed. In Galway, Catherine Corless and many locals have been calling for exhumation of the site at Tuam. It is the work of Catherine Corless that has led to the work that this Government is doing. It would not have happened without her. I hope that the Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration will accede to the Minister's request as soon as possible and scrutinise the Bill that will allow for the dignified exhumation and the use of DNA identification in order that families can finally be granted some peace. This Bill should also be broad enough to include the possibility of exhumation at other sites.

The very least that people born in mother and baby homes and county homes deserve is their birth certificates, followed by information about the nature of their birth. With the archive being transferred to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth by the commission, as Senators requested, and a new information management unit having been set up in the Department, I believe that access is on its way from the start of March.Although I know this will deal with many of their requests, there are a number of people whose records are not contained in those archives. Therefore, the information tracing legislation to which the Minister committed on the floor of this House before Senators is welcome. The Minister committed to providing this within the year, along with the other access. I thank the Minister for informing us all today that the heads of Bill will be ready in spring and I know that information has been sought. I know that an amount of engagement has already taken place. This needs to be increased and stepped up. I acknowledge that concerns have been laid out from across the Chamber on the balance of rights but the fundamental right to have access to information concerning oneself is paramount and it is important to take that approach.

Beyond the duty of care owed by the State to survivors, there is also a duty to teach, learn and preserve this part of history. The countries that learn well from past abuse incorporate it into education. Key in these measures that the Minister has outlined is education. For so long, our education system has been dominated by religious teaching. Let this be part of that teaching. I therefore agree with the approach of engaging across Departments to ensure the report is incorporated into our second level system.

It is safe to say that trust broke down for many in our society, particularly for the most vulnerable and for those outside of these mother and baby homes and county homes. There is an element of trust that needs to be rebuilt. As a State, we owe a debt to these people and on behalf of the Green Party Senators in this House and with the Government, I will do my part in repaying that debt. It is not just about words; this is about all of us taking action to repay that debt.