Residential Institutions
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Tom Clonan (IND), University of Dublin

I thank the Minister of State for taking the Commencement matter. I want to let the family know that the Minister of State did actually reach out to me, which does not always happen. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was very struck by Carmel’s story and she wanted to convey to them personally her sympathy and her solidarity.
I think there is an opportunity for us to quantify the abuse of children in this manner. The information will be there. For example, in Carmel’s case, she passed away in the care of St. Brendan’s in 2023. It would be a very simple matter for the HSE to do an audit of the records to find out the date of birth and the age of children who were inappropriately placed in this manner.
Again, I want to commend the family on being here and Patricia in particular, because of her loyalty and the very expression of love for her sister that she is here today while we commit all of this to the record of these Houses. We must ensure that, particularly in the context of the intergenerational trauma, we commemorate all those other children and other families and recognise their suffering.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-20