Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)

If I may, I will read this open letter to all Members of the Seanad from the survivors of Ireland's industrial and reformatory schools system, dated 30 June 2025.

To whom it may concern,

We, the Survivors of Ireland's Industrial and Reformatory Schools System, write to you today with heavy hearts and unwavering determination.

For decades we endured cruelty, neglect, abuse and the erasure of our dignity in institutions run by the state and religious orders. Our childhoods were stolen, our innocence lost and our Stories too often silenced.

In 1999, then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern issued a formal apology on behalf of the state and the people of Ireland, in 2009 a promise by Minister Batt O'Keeffe to allocate 500,000 euros for a national memorial to remember the children of the Industrial Schools, yet here we stand in 2025 still waiting.

As of the close of business on Friday, 3 July 2025, if our reasonable, humane requests have not been granted we will commence a hunger strike.

We do not take this decision lightly. Our patience, like our Health and our time is not infinite.

We are asking for: 1. A HAA Medical Card - So Survivors can access necessary medical care without delay or denial in recognition of the physical and psychological trauma we carry.

2. An Enhanced Pension - A modest and respectful financial recognition of the hardship, lost education opportunities and wellbeing we were denied.

3. We request a dedicated Industrial School Survivor Trust fund for our children (In Lieu of your proposed education fund) to support them when needed.

4. A National Memorial to honour the thousands of children who suffered and those who never made it home. In September 2009, 500,000 Euros was allocated for this purpose. We demand that this promise be honoured and that a fitting memorial be established as a lasting public testament to our history, which is at risk of being forgotten neglected or erased from the public consciousness. Because promises were made and promises must be kept. Our message to the Government: Your apology was a start. Apologies without action are hollow. We demand the promises made to us be fulfilled. We urge you to act now before more lives are lost waiting with courage, hope and unyielding resolve.

The letter is signed by: Miriam Moriarty Owens, Mary Donovan, Mary Dunleavy Greene, Mary Smith, Catherine Coffey O'Brien, Ann O'Gorman and Maurice O'Connell, who are survivors of Ireland's industrial and reformatory school system.