Many people of a younger generation will be appalled as they read in today's newspapers about the treatment of Joanne Hayes 34 years ago by agencies of the State, including An Garda Síochána and the Lynch tribunal, which was established by the Oireachtas and by the State. They will read of the very hurtful manner in which this young woman was treated, causing enormous distress to her and her family. The complete lack of empathy shown at that time by agencies of this State was shameful and is a damning indictment of the institutions of the State and of society at that time. She was wrongly accused of murdering a baby and was put through an horrendous tribunal, which was meant to inquire into the failures of An Garda Síochána in its conduct of the investigation but which essentially turned into a cross-examination of Joanne Hayes herself. In the words of Brendan Kennelly, one of our most famous poets, the tribunal was like a "medieval witch hunt" with the victims burning at the stake and the crowd dancing around the fire and that just about sums it up.

It is interesting that on the release of State papers, people will often say that it was a different era and that everything is attributable to the era. Sometimes that is true and, in this case, it partially explains some of what went on and the context. However, even at the time the then Garda Commissioner, Larry Wren, described the performance of gardaí as revealed in the State papers as "grossly negligent". There are also lessons for us today. There is no room for an absence of professionalism in agencies of the State in terms of investigations, the conduct of tribunals and so on. Notwithstanding the culture of the era and the mores of the time, there are still very significant lessons to be learned by the agencies of the State today in terms of how we deal with citizens in our society and the moral approach we can take.

I understand that the Taoiseach has issued an apology on behalf of the State to Ms Hayes and her family, which I welcome. Deputy John Brassil has spoken to the Hayes family, who are very anxious that their privacy would be respected. Joanne Hayes and her family do not want to relive the horrors of what happened back then again. On their behalf, I am making a general plea that their privacy would be respected at this difficult time. I ask the Tánaiste whether the State, without any negotiation, will adequately and properly compensate Joanne Hayes for what happened. The State should not put her under duress or force her to go through any process but should do the honourable thing by acknowledging the terrible hurt that was caused and providing adequate, appropriate and fair compensation.

I thank Deputy Martin for raising this issue in a sensitive manner. I want to personally welcome the apology that was made yesterday by the acting Garda Commissioner to Joanne Hayes and her family. As Tánaiste, I also want to join the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Taoiseach in apologising on behalf of the State. I was thinking yesterday, as I am sure others were, of where I was and what age I was at that time. I was starting secondary school and would like to think it was a very different Ireland in terms of the approach to women and pregnancy in those days. However, I also accept the point that real policing mistakes were made. There were also mistakes made in the subsequent tribunal in terms of how a woman and her family were questioned. The way in which the tribunal was conducted was described as insensitive, very, very frightening, harrowing, quite horrific and shameful by the Dáil committee on women's rights subsequently. There are lessons here for the State. There is also a need to respond to the family's wish for privacy so that a woman who had to go through an extraordinary ordeal of accusation and blame does not have to relive that awful period in her life. Her extended family should not have to go through that either.

I wish to restate the Taoiseach's apology to Joanne Hayes and her family. In terms of the final question that Deputy Martin asked about compensation, we will certainly try to deal with this issue in as sensitive a manner as possible but I am not empowered or at liberty to say right now how that should take place. However, I am sure that it is something on which the Government will try to make a quick decision.

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. I reiterate that the Hayes family have been speaking to Deputy John Brassil and are very anxious that this does not become a political football. They are also anxious that their privacy would be respected. Given the trauma that has already been caused, they certainly do not want to go through all that again and that has been very clearly articulated to us. The lessons are there to be learned in terms of how we approach issues like this, even in today's world. We have had a number of cases relating to children and only recently, a number of worrying reports from Tusla. It is a warning to us and a reminder of the absolute necessity to keep looking for the highest of standards in terms of how State agencies conduct their affairs.

The only reason I have raised the issue of compensation is that the State generally takes a defensive approach to issues such as this even when it is very clear that a wrong was done by it and when apologies have been issued by it. By the way, I am not articulating on behalf of anybody. Nobody has asked me to make this point. There comes a time for the State to take the lead in dealing with certain issues and certain events. It needs to do the right and the fair thing in a situation such as this. I appreciate the Tánaiste's comments.

I take the point that when questions of redress or compensation are being discussed in tragic circumstances in which the State is responsible for wrongdoing, there is often a concern about the setting of a precedent. Given the extraordinary circumstances of this case, I do not think it sets a precedent to try to deal with it in a sensitive way. With the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and the Taoiseach, I will ensure this aspect of the issue is raised. I remind the House that there is an ongoing and active Garda investigation into what happened to baby John in this case. I join the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and others in urging anyone with information on the death of baby John to come forward in order that the other tragic element of this case can be resolved through an appropriate Garda investigation. Our primary thoughts today need to be with the Hayes family and I hope the call for privacy will be heeded by the media and politicians. By responding to families in these circumstances in a respectful manner we can show that Ireland has moved on in how these tragic stories are covered by the media and debated by politicians.