Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I apologise to the different crowds who came in who I did not see. I acknowledge Sheila, Mary, Miriam and Mary. I thank them for being here at every debate, as difficult as I am sure it has been for each and every one of them. I acknowledge so much of what we have spoken of here today, not just specifically Caranua or the redress scheme but the trauma, hurt and pain that has been inflicted, as Senator Boyhan said, on every family in the country. There is nobody who does not know someone either close to them or within their circle or community who has not been impacted by what we are speaking of today. We must always acknowledge it and our failures as successive governments and communities because everybody had a part in this. Everybody knew what was happening. Everybody could see what was happening, whether it was acknowledged at the time or not. We need to make sure in everything we do that we acknowledge it and endeavour to ensure that it never happens to anyone else. As challenging as that may be, that has to be an objective and endeavour to which all of us subscribe.

I know, coming in at the very end Stages of this Bill, that so much work has been done and so much engagement has happened since the report, the redress scheme, Caranua's establishment and now, obviously, what comes next. With regard to this amendment specifically, I apologise that it will not be accepted but it is for the reason that this information is and will be made available and provided through the Department of Education and Youth report and the Caranua report that will have to be published once this has wound down, which will state very clearly much of the information Senators have mentioned. The Department of Education and Youth report will also have to state the number of applications that have been processed, the range of supports provided and availed of and the uptake.

I have given a clear commitment in the amendment we will bring back to the Dáil that there will be a review of the education supports to make sure they are working as they should and that people are able to access them, and that it will be done in a maximum three-yearly basis but it could be done before then. As with any scheme or piece of legislation, we must make sure that the lived experience and survivors' experiences in particular are taken into account. I absolutely commit to doing that in the coming weeks as we announce a new commission and set out exactly how that will work. It is only through the lived experience of survivors that we will get it right and ensure that their voices are very clearly heard. Anything then in terms of a redress scheme obviously has to be based on what has gone before, but it is about how can we learn from it and make anything like that better and how can we improve the way in which we are supporting survivors first and foremost.

I commend Senator Boyhan in particular on his bravery and the way in which he has spoken and, I believe, more than any of us, represented victims and survivors in the way he has. I know he is somebody who will continue to do that long after today and long after this discussion and debate. I assure him that the information that is being sought will be provided through the reports that are already being committed to and that will be published by my Department. It is really important that we do that and understand and learn from every step of the way what has worked, what has not and how we can do better. We can always do better, and we always need to do better. I acknowledge that also.