Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials to the House. This is a very long overdue step in addressing the legal rights of the individuals and families who died and were disappeared in institutional contexts for too long. They are individuals and families who have been impacted by so-called historical institutional abuse and have been sidelined. Indeed, while this is an important step forward, it saddens me to note that those who will be directly impacted continue to have to learn about developments through the press or newspaper articles. However, this is a step forward. On such an occasion, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the extraordinary work of those who have campaigned for this for many years now. In addition to the individuals and families, it is important to acknowledge the tireless work of Dr. Catherine Corless, as has already been done today, Conall Ó Fátharta, Elaine O'Loughin, the late Dr. Vicky Conway and members of the Clann Project among others. I would also like to mention Patricia Burke Brogan, who recently passed away. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam. I wish to highlight the work that she did in respect of institutional abuse, in particular, the play Eclipsed.

While I understand this motion relates directly to the creation of the office of director of authorised intervention in respect of Tuam, I would nonetheless like to highlight the importance of an independent review and the commitment to an independent review that was made by the Minister last year. While it is not for us to speak to the trauma that this will inflict on individuals and their families, it is important to recognise the crucial role that inquests have in contextualising and examining how or when a person has died. While I fully acknowledge the unprecedented scale of the task, the societal importance of the deaths demand that the State's failure of citizens be corrected. The Minister has proposed a new initiative to support survivors to tell their personal stories. I am conscious of the impact that retelling a story will have on many who have already engaged in this traumatic process. Is it, therefore, a misunderstanding of the wishes of individuals and their families?

I would also like to raise the point that there are many more institutions to consider in addition to Tuam, including 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes. The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes investigated only a fraction of the institutions through which unmarried families were separated and in which infants, children and women died. Numerous institutional abuse survivors are still campaigning for all institutions to be included in the Government's measures. I call on the Government to address that unnecessary exclusion and the distinctions which have been the hallmark into inquiries into so-called historical abuse. All survivor sites and burials are worthy of equal treatment. That warrants mention today.