Mother and Baby Homes
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-19
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I thank the Minister of State for her response. In 2021, the then, and current, Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, when he was giving a State apology, said, “It is the duty of a republic to be willing to hold itself to account". He also said that we need to confront the truth and uncomfortable parts of our history. I wonder if those words were empty, because I believe much more action is needed to provide justice for survivors.
Survivors need to be absolutely central to any decisions made regarding that site and what will happen with it. Their views need to be taken on board. While surveys were conducted, no radar penetration surveys were conducted on that site. It is very remiss that we would allow private developers onto that site with the potential of juvenile human remains on it. It is the utmost disrespect. If there was a headline in the paper this morning saying 859 babies were missing, there would be a national campaign to find them. I believe the State has not done enough and has abdicated its responsibility by not stepping in. Can the State step in regarding this matter and is it willing to do so?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-19