Kathleen Funchion urges meaningful consultation for survivors
Kathleen Funchion spoke about the mother and baby institutions and the report published yesterday, praising survivors and demanding meaningful consultation. She argued the State and Government have failed survivors and called for concrete redress, including access to birth certificates and care or adoption files.
Tribute to survivors
She paid tribute to the women and children, many now adults, who heroically came forward to share their stories. She described survivors who had babies stolen from them or who were denied relationships with their birth mothers and said their courage and determination must be honoured.
Condemnation of institutional abuses
She said mother and baby homes were supposed to be places of safety but instead hid torture, deprivation and humiliation on a colossal scale. She criticised the appalling conditions — births often without medical support or basic pain relief — and said human rights did not exist in these centres, which were run akin to prisons by cruel nuns and others.
Criticism of State and Government response
She stressed survivors were repeatedly failed by the State, including the Government, and recalled the anger caused when attempted legislation was rushed through in October last year. She said nobody within the State had been willing to listen and called out past failures to consult meaningfully with survivors and representative groups.
Demands for action and redress
She urged that survivors and families be given time to read and reflect on the report and that their voices be genuinely heard in a meaningful consultation. She demanded assurances of unconditional access to birth certificates and a clear statutory right to care or adoption files and records concerning family members who died in care or adoption, and pressed the Government to ensure survivors who cannot access the report electronically receive a postal copy.
Expectations for genuine engagement
She warned that redress must not be a talking shop and called for the State to accept responsibility and repair the damaged relationship with survivors. She pleaded for real engagement with survivors and adoptive rights groups so that their rights are vindicated and proper redress is delivered.
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Today, as we speak about the mother and baby institutions and the report that was published yesterday, I want to firstly pay tribute and commend all of the women and children, many who are now adults, who heroically came forward and shared their stories. They fought with courage and determination and they did not give up. Over the past number of years, I have had the privilege of getting to know many people who are survivors of mother and baby homes. Some women who had their babies stolen from them, and some children born into the homes, who were then denied a relationship with their birth mother. Through many conversations I have had with them, one common message always rings through. Nobody within the state was willing to listen to them. When they were forced into these institutions, and since then, they have been failed on many occasions by this state, including this government. Real meaningful consultation is something that survivors, their families and their representative groups have continuously sought. Today, when speaking about this, I want to say that I am cognizant that we need to allow survivors and their families the time to read the report in detail and to reflect on its contents, and then we need to ensure to listen to their voices. We also remember the many women and children that lost their lives in these institutions, and if I could just say as well, Minister, that I have been contacted by a number of survivors that have not actually been able to access the report. They are not technologically savvy. They felt they were going to get a copy in the post, and I would urge that that is actually followed up on, because I think that is the absolute least that they deserve. Mother and baby homes were not detention centres. A home is somewhere where you are supposed to feel safe, loved and protected, not a place where you are tortured, imprisoned and forced to give birth in the most appalling conditions, often without medical support or even basic pain relief. These walls hid torture, deprivation and humiliation on a colossal scale. Human rights did not exist in these centres. As a mother, a daughter, a sister and an Irish citizen, I cannot countenance this cruelty. The cries of children and tortured mothers were ignored and trivialised by cruel nuns and others also who were involved in these institutions, who ran the institutions akin to prisons. While both yesterday and today mark historic days, the journey to truth and equality is anything but over. Time and time again, we have failed survivors and their families. Most recently, in October last year, when they were appallingly treated by this Government, as they attempted to rush ill-thought out legislation through. This caused huge anger and upset for survivors. When will we learn that survivors need to be listened to? They do not need our sympathy, they need and they deserve our action. We must set out a path to genuine consultation and the Government must make good on its commitment to repair the damage done to the relationship. I sincerely hope the Government's commitment to redress is not simply a talking shop and that real engagement is entered into with all survivors and adoptive rights groups. Survivors need assurances that their rights are vindicated, especially their right to unconditional access to birth certificates. For their families, they need a clear and statutory right to their own care or adoption file and to records concerning a family member who died in care or adoption. It is my fervent wish that the courage shown by survivors in coming forward is now met by action from the Government. As the State has failed you, the State did not listen, the State did not care, the State turned a blind eye and now the State must accept responsibility and come good for survivors. And please let the consultation be actually meaningful and genuine and please ensure people get a copy of the report and their voices are then heard. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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