I want to raise one issue today. The special advocate for survivors of institutional abuse held a press conference. I do not recall that there were any Senators there but there were a number of Deputies present. It was packed and was extensively covered in all media today. It is a reminder of a lot of unfinished business. We heard a heart-rending story from a man who was taken to Kerry and ended up being boarded out. He shared with us the enormous emotion of the separation of his brothers and the impact it had on his life. This man had an extraordinary story that I had never heard before. Many of the journalists present were deeply moved by it. The story related to boarding out. There are many aspects to institutional abuse. We talk about emotional abuse, mental abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse. It comes in many forms and is sometimes a combination of them all. The great tragedy is that thousands and thousands of children, both boys and girls, were farmed out and were separated from their families. This was aided and abetted by the institutions of the State and the church. This was, historically, of a time. Things have moved on.

As someone who is committed to agriculture and has represented the agricultural panel for over ten years now, I am struck by the thought that young children aged five, six and seven were housed in barns and sheds. They were not housed with the family or the children. They were out picking stones. They worked as slaves seven days a week. There are stories of children who were forced to eat swill rather than food. There are stories of children who were held back from any education. However, the greatest sin of all was to break the link from their brothers and sisters. Yesterday we heard the story of a man who went on a bus to Kilgarvan and was then wrenched away from his brother and taken up to another family in Kerry, not that far away, but for ten years they never connected and never met. That has all been validated and we heard that story yesterday. Again, there was no commitment to link him in. That leaves emotional, physical and mental scars on people.

The Government has acknowledged different things. I want to make a particular reference to the Taoiseach. I am only talking about boarding out here today because there were many aspects covered yesterday. The Taoiseach gave an apology and a recognition in the State's apology to the boarded-out people, but nothing has happened. We were told yesterday about restitution that never came. That was the story about the boarded-out survivors. They are still excluded from any financial redress despite repeated recognition of the wrongdoing of the State. Indeed, I sat in the Chamber some weeks back when the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, who I know has huge sympathy and empathy with this particular issue, spoke about an apology but the redress has not been given. I want to thank the special advocate, Patricia Carey. I want to thank the people who shared their story with us at Buswells Hotel at the press launch yesterday. I ask the Leader if we could have a debate specifically on the boarded-out families to let us look at it again and see what practical measures there are. Redress is about more than money; it is about practical supports. I would like to have a targeted, respectful conversation with the relevant Government Departments to see what we can do to progress this matter, which is about justice and redress.