Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Peter Burke (FG), Longford-Westmeath

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for raising this important matter. I cannot imagine the trauma many families are going through right now as a result of the conclusion of An Coimisiún Pleanála on this file. This was a dark time in our past. Many families were affected by institutions in our State at a time when the State turned a blind eye to vulnerable families - those who needed support at key junctures and crisis points in their lives.
The Government can now engage with survivors and people in the vicinity directly affected by this decision. There is a huge body of work in doing that and we have to do it respectfully and with dignity. In terms of the planning authority and the coimisiún, we know these are independent processes and they have to run their course. The coimisiún came forward with its determination, which was announced this morning.
This is a 60-acre site on a wider 200-acre site where the estate was originally. The Deputy raised a number of items and, as a Government Minister, I cannot respond with precision about what the State will do about a CPO, which the Deputy has proposed, and collectively in terms of a monument for the future. What I would say is it should be victim-centred. Those who have been affected by this trauma and the families who carry this grief to this day need to be front and centre in the determination of the future of that site. I believe that, having spoken to many families about their experiences of this difficult trauma in many different parts of the country. It was horrific and they live consistently with the scars of it.
The Government has done a number of things to try to respond to the challenge of the past - the neglect by the State in the past. We set out in our action plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby home institutions a number of actions. In November 2022, the then Minister for housing wrote to local authorities, including Cork City Council, requesting adequate consideration be brought to bear in development plan processes and consideration be given to very sensitive sites such as this one. That is key here. At a time when people are vulnerable, people are being reminded of, and consistently endure, the scars of the past. That needs to be brought to bear and brought to the forefront. The Government needs to give them a compassionate hand and work with them to try to get agreement about the future of the site. Notwithstanding that, two independent processes have taken place but I hope the Government will now engage proactively with the victims.
As a father of two young children and as a husband, my heart is absolutely with victims and survivors who had backs turned on them at a hard and dark time in our State. Now we are in a different place.
We are a more compassionate Government. We are an understanding Government. We are a Government that wants to hold out the hand of friendship to try to rectify the scars of the past.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09