Today's apology is historic, important and welcome. I acknowledge the survivors who have endured decades of harm, neglect and State failure. We are not dealing with an historic issue. It is very much live and present. It is the ongoing failure of the State to meet the basic needs of survivors of institutional abuse. I welcome the apology and the commitment in terms of supports. I encourage their being in place as quickly as possible, although it is already too late. I say to Mary, Mary, Miriam and Maurice, and people talk about stigma, that they are an inspiration. You have achieved something. Less than a year ago, I stood here, and our current President, Catherine Connolly, sat over there. We brought forward proposals and amendments in line with what they were looking for. We lost. We were unsuccessful. We did not deliver, but you did. You have done that. It should not have taken your hunger strike, but your resilience and determination have been an absolute inspiration. You stuck it out and brought the Government to this position. You should be incredibly proud of yourselves. Your families should be incredibly proud of you, as should the whole of Ireland. It is an inspiration. We met and talked. You were incredibly tenacious. You did not let us or the Government away with anything. There are commitments here from the Government. We need to see them realised. This is a wrong that has to be righted. I know you will, as will we, pursue it to make sure that you get exactly what has been committed to. As I said, what you have done is very inspirational. This relates to a very dark period in Irish history. Lessons have to be learnt. We need to see action on the part of the Government in the context of ensuring that the commitments which have been made are delivered. Once again, comhghairdeas libh. You should be incredibly proud of yourselves. I am inspired by you.

Sentiment score: 0.13