Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am not going to speak for terribly long on this issue. As I believe this is, though, the last time we will address this matter, I feel I should speak on it. I am acutely aware that with every day that passes, time is slipping away from those who had their lives cruelly and irrevocably changed, and sometimes even destroyed, by this brutal regime that the State willingly supported. These people deserve justice. Some of them are going to get justice under the auspices of the provisions of this Bill. It is going to pass. There is no question about it because Government Senators are going to support it. This ensures it will pass regardless of what has been said in this House.

Many people will, therefore, get justice, but many other people will not. My colleague, Senator Boyhan, outlined several groups of people who will not. He referred to those involved in vaccine trials, those boarded out of the homes and those who were there for less than six months. Many of us on this side of the Chamber have spoken at length about these groups. I put my name, along with the other Senators in the Labour Party grouping, to amendment No. 1. This is a more than reasonable amendment to request changes in the legislation. The Labour Party will also support many other proposed amendments, but amendment No. 1, in particular, provides an opportunity for the Government to signal that it has heard what people on this side of the House have said. The Government should examine the issues that we feel are not currently covered or not adequately covered in the legislation as part of the report. It is not an unreasonable thing to seek.

Most of us are not seeking these changes based on our personal experiences. I must give credit to Senator Boyhan who has led us in this Chamber, not only on this legislation but on this topic overall. I know there are other people who walk through the corridors of Leinster House for whom this experience is part of their lives and reality. There are, then, some people whom this legislation will directly affect. I am not going to keep going on about this because I could not possibly follow on from what some of the previous speakers have said so eloquently, and not just today but in previous contributions on this matter as well. Asking for a report, however, that would take into consideration all the issues we have outlined and are concerned about, and not only to those of us in this Chamber because many citizens are concerned about these issues as well, would be a meaningful action for the Government to take. It would be a meaningful action and gesture for the Government to take to demonstrate it has heard what has been said and that it recognises that these issues and groups are not currently being considered but that it will do so. If the Minister cannot accept this amendment, I ask him to give a verbal commitment that these areas will be explored.

I recognise the work the Government has done on this issue. As I said, many people will get justice in the context of the provisions of the proposed legislation but many others will not. It is not right when we are trying to right the wrongs of the past to only right the wrongs for some people. We must seek to right the wrongs for all those people affected by this system and by the intolerable and cruel regime that the Governments of the day stood by and supported. If the Minister cannot accept this amendment, I ask him to at least offer some words of comfort by stating these areas will be looked at in future by the Government. I say this because, as I said previously, this Bill is going to pass. I have no doubts about this, but I find it very hard to stomach the fact that we will go forward and not have an opportunity to offer justice to the other groups of people that have been outlined. These people were involved in the vaccine trials, boarded out or were in the institutions for less than six months. If there is something the Minister can say, commit to or offer, I ask him to do so. Otherwise, this leaves an unfortunate sullying of his legacy, because he has done incredible work on this issue. I reiterate again that many people will be able to get justice because of this Bill, but some will not. It is the responsibility of the Government to listen to those other voices and to the issues that have been raised in this House and address whether something is going to be done in future for the people in these groups.