Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish everyone a happy St. Brigid's Day on this fine spring day.

Although we have had two debates on mother and baby homes, I feel I have to raise the issue again. We learned over the weekend that the audio recordings of the testimonies of survivors of the institutions had been destroyed. Many survivors have expressed anger at this latest development, saying they were not informed when giving their testimonies that they would be destroyed. It was shocking to hear that the majority of the 500 plus audio recordings of survivors' personal testimonies had been destroyed.

Many survivors have criticised the report, in particular the conclusions, which state that there is a lack of evidence of forced adoption and abuse, despite testimonies contradicting this. Many were also unhappy that their testimonies were not recorded accurately. Their proof of that has now been eradicated. One survivor made the point that she would not have agreed to give oral evidence had she known that the recording would be destroyed. With each new revelation, the suffering of the survivors is compounded and the trauma continues.

I wish to discuss the deaths of more than 900 children at the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork. It was shocking to hear that planning permission had been granted for apartments on the grounds of the institution. In a detailed submission on the planning application, the Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance noted that the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes found that no proper records of burial locations were kept for Bessborough. It was also noted in the submission that the southerly parts of two blocks of the proposed development would be located on an area marked as the children's burial ground on a 1950 ordnance survey while a third block would directly overlook the site. The proposed development on the site of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home as well as the dignified treatment of unmarked burial grounds there are matters of significant national and local concern. One of the survivors stated:

We have the evidence, we have the documentation, we know where the children's burial ground is and we don't want any big huge development overshadowing it. We have been overshadowed all our lives.

I request that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, who launched the commission's report, come to the Seanad and give an undertaking that the graves of babies buried at Bessborough will be marked, preserved and protected.