Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like others I acknowledge your presence in the Chair today, which is most appropriate. I acknowledge that you have spoken regularly on many other issues, but this one in particular. You have a particular insight, which has enormously benefited the discourse. I commend you on that.

I welcome the Minister to the House. Nobody could question his sincerity in trying to right the wrongs of yesteryear and there were significant wrongs. The State oversaw a cruel and barbaric treatment of women, girls and children in institutions that were funded and largely run by the religious orders.The State was supposed to be the guardian of the citizens of this country but, unfortunately, it allowed the church to do this. This happened because, to a large extent, the church and State were interwoven. Essentially, one was in the pocket of the other. Politicians who should have spoken out were afraid to do so because of the consequences speaking out would lead to.

The report is good but it is incomplete. In addition, the language used in the report is overly legalistic and lacks a certain compassion. Words do matter. There are many words in this report that lack any sensitivity or compassion. I agree with others who said that the authors of the report should have held a press conference. There is precedence for this. It happened in respect of other reports. I recall that when the McAleese report was published, Martin McAleese held a press conference and took questions on it. Even at this late stage, the Minister should use his good offices to prevail upon the authors to make a public statement and take questions from the media. In this day and age, it is the least we would expect of them.

We need to right the many wrongs that were committed as best we can. The apology by An Taoiseach in the Dáil on behalf of the Irish people was welcome. The apology by the Tánaiste and leader of Fine Gael, Deputy Varadkar, on behalf of the party that I represent was appropriate as well. Fine Gael was in government at times when this was happening. The Tánaiste's apology was appropriate because Fine Gael was complicit in that it did nothing to address the situation. That is inexcusable, but the apology is welcome.

What people are interested in is what happens now and in the future. The politicians of this generation are not responsible for what was done by politicians in previous generations. They are also not responsible for what future politicians might do, but they are responsible for what is done now. This situation must be dealt with now. It needs to be dealt with, not in the medium-term future or in the long-term future, but in the short-term future. There are 22 recommendations in the report which the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, discussed with the survivors on the webinar. Those 22 key recommendations need to be implemented without delay.

There is no excuse for straightforward measures not to be taken immediately. For instance, the issuing of medical cards and the resolution of the housing issues can be done in a matter of weeks, not months. In regard to the legislation that is required, most people agree that the back end of this year is not acceptable: it is too late. One of the most fundamental issues as far as I am concerned is former residents of mother and baby homes being able to identify who they are. They must have access to their records and their entitlements. It is no longer good enough to use the Constitution, GDPR or any other modern day excuse as a reason for hiding or not making these records available. If it comes down to it, I would err on the side of the person seeking to identify his or her parents as opposed to the side of the parents and protecting their identities.If it comes down to it I believe that the person who was adopted has the right to know who he or she is. We are not talking about people knocking on a door. Protocols and procedures can be put in place but I believe this is very important.

I know I am out of time in this debate. Redress needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. The Bon Secours, for example, had the mother and baby home in Tuam. They are one of the biggest and wealthiest healthcare providers in the State. Having a collection is not enough; we must have significant engagement.

I am sure we will revisit this topic many times but I commit to the Minister that I will raise this on the Order of Business each month from now on, looking for updates on where we are in implementing the report's recommendations.