The decision to grant planning permission for a residential development on the site of the former Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork is deeply wrong. It is deeply troubling and profoundly disrespectful to the women and children who lived there, who suffered there and who died there. Bessborough is not just another development site; it is a place of trauma, loss and gross injustice. It is a place where women were confined, where children died and where families are still searching for the truth. We cannot discuss planning at Bessborough as if it is comparable to any other planning application in the State, as if it is simply another zoned map. This is about history, accountability, human dignity and the real impact that Bessborough still has on those who were there. This decision risks erasing history and erasing the often horrific lived experiences of women and their children. These are not distant, abstract stories. The Minister mentioned 1998. I was a mother in 1998. These are real people who suffered real injustices at the hands of both the State and the church. They are sisters, aunts, daughters, mothers and children. They are families who were failed and who continue to be failed. We know that hundreds of mothers and children died in Bessborough during its years of operation. We know there are no records for some of those who died there. We know that the commission itself said it is highly likely that burials took place on the grounds. In that context, how can any development proceed in good conscience without first establishing the full truth? I acknowledge the Minister's opening statement and the recognition of a forensic archaeologist but that is simply not good enough. This week, academics and human rights experts warned that allowing large-scale development on this site risks undermining Ireland's obligations to properly investigate locations connected to mother and baby homes. They raised serious concerns that the full extent of burials may not yet be known and that construction could proceed without questions being answered. These warnings cannot be ignored. They must be taken seriously by the Government and the planning authorities. Sinn Féin has been clear and consistent on the legacy of mother and baby homes: survivors and families must come first. The record of successive Governments on this issue has been one of delay, exclusion and avoidance. From the commission of investigation established ten years ago and the sealing of the records to the redress scheme that excluded survivors, there have been repeated failures to confront the truth. Once again, we are faced with a decision that appears to prioritise moving on over finding out what really happened and attempting to bring some level of closure to those women who suffered so horrifically within those walls. There is no doubt that we need housing, and Sinn Féin supports developments, but we support the development of homes in the right place at the right time and not at the cost of covering up the truth or stripping dignity away further. We cannot build over sites where there are still unanswered questions about unmarked graves, missing records and the fate of children who died in State-supported institutions. If this development proceeds without a full investigation, without proper consultation with survivors and without ensuring that all burial grounds are identified and treated with respect, the State will be failing these women and children all over again. There must be immediate action to safeguard this site and a full and thorough examination of the grounds is required. Survivors and families must be consulted and listened to. Local memorialisation must be provided and no development should proceed until the truth is fully established. The Taoiseach himself has said the State failed mothers and children in these institutions, but words must mean something. If we allow this site to be built over without first establishing what lies beneath, not only will history just be neglected, it will be actively erased. Survivors have endured unimaginable trauma. I cannot imagine the trauma of not knowing where a loved one is buried. They should not be retraumatised by decisions taken without them about their history and against their wishes. A grave injustice was done. It cannot and must not be covered over. Sinn Féin is determined to secure truth and justice for survivors of mother and baby homes and for those who did not survive. They have strength and resilience, but what must seem like an ever-ongoing reopening of scars and traumatic events cannot continue to be inflicted upon them by the State or any arms of its apparatus.

Sentiment score: -0.21