Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is very fitting that Senator Boyhan is in the Chair given the work he has done on this issue. I welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to the House to speak on the mother and baby homes. I also welcome his decision to visit Tuam to meet survivors. He and his team have engaged in in-depth consultation processes with many of the survivors and groups advocating on their behalf.

This is a shameful part of our history which has left a tragic legacy. As public representatives, it is we who must stand before people, answer for what happened in the past and rectify it. In the report of the confidential committee we read about the lived experiences in the testimonies of the survivors. Those testimonies are our history, which will stand in the time to come, of how women and children were treated in Ireland. We are here now and as I think Senator Hoey said, we are a wealthy country. It is a very different world now. I do not know if we can even imagine the poverty in Ireland in the early years of the State. We should consider the level of emigration in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. That poverty led to the societal attitudes of the time and the State becoming intertwined with the church. It led to a lack of oversight and so many other things. The poverty of that period was shocking but we are fortunate to be in a better place now.

As I pay tribute to those affected, I must mention that people are still suffering in silence and have been able to come forward. There are still very many who have not spoken about this. I highlight for the people who are listening to us that there are helpline numbers and counselling supports available. There are telephone numbers in each county, available through the HSE, and also the Connect Counselling freephone service, which is available on 1800 477 477 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Speaking about all this abuse is bringing many memories to the surface. Many people care coming to us, including from other residential institutions, to speak about the suffering and abuse they endured. Those counselling services are available for everyone who is going through this.

The scheme is an action plan for how we will go forward and a commitment on behalf of the State to an overall scheme of roughly €800 million. The Minister mentioned that an estimated 34,000 people will qualify for financial payments and more than 19,000 will be eligible for an enhanced medical card. As he said, those survivors who are vulnerable and elderly will be prioritised for payment. I welcome that as it is absolutely crucial. People living outside Ireland will be able to access this scheme and survivors will be free to speak about their engagement with it. I welcome these measures.

The Minister mentioned the postgraduate scholarships, in partnership with the Irish Research Council, for research into childhood disadvantage. These will stand to us in the future in how we deal with disadvantage. The Minister also spoke about a programme which will analyse stigma. That stigma is very strong. In the past, the worst thing in the world was to be an unmarried mother. Society shunned unmarried mothers and families abandoned and put them out the door. I sometimes ask where the stigma is today. Who in our society is suffering from that level of stigma because I do not know if stigma totally disappears? That is important.

On the payment scheme, urgent access is indeed required. The Minister mentioned that there will be an annual report to follow progress across eight themes. Of the 22 actions, 13 of them are in progress. Will the Minister speak a little about the patient advocacy liaison service? How will this service support people who use it? He also spoke about Tuam and the memorialisation service. For people in counties Galway and Roscommon, the Tuam home is just tragic. I do not know how to put things into words when I think of that home. I thank the Minister.