Bessborough site
Senator Harmon urged action on Bessborough in Cork, including possible negotiation, compulsory purchase, publication of burial records and an inquest. Senators Higgins and O'Reilly voiced support.
I am speaking again about the issue of Bessborough in Cork city and to call once again on the Taoiseach to act on this. There is still time to do the right thing and to have a negotiation process with the developer now or, failing that, to look at compulsory purchase of this site.
The burial records have been sealed in relation to this. There is an opportunity to legislate and publish these records. The Attorney General could instruct an inquest in relation to this site too. There will be a march on Saturday in Cork city which meets at 2.30 p.m. outside the library. We hope to see cross-party support at this.
I will take the opportunity to read a random selection of names of people who died at Bessborough to put them into the record. Christina Lehane was born 22 December 1938. She died on 29 March 1939. She was three months old. Her cause of death was recorded as “congenital debilities”. For many of those babies who died at Bessborough, the reason given for their death was congenital debility or marasmus, which was essentially starvation. The reason given for these babies’ deaths was often very vague. Kathleen Collins died on 27 August 1926, Bernadette Gould died on 7 August 1943, Thomas Higgins died on 19 July 1977, Patrick O’Donnell died on 10 December 1967, and Paula McCarthy died on 28 January 1990.
I wanted to read a selection of the names into the record but we know 923 babies died at Bessborough. Many women are missing also. If over 800 babies were missing in Ireland now, there would be a national search and a global outcry. We need the truth about this site. We cannot concrete over the past. I encourage the Taoiseach to meet all survivor groups. I know he has met a selection of them but he had not met the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group which represents over 700 people. It has made several requests to meet the Taoiseach and I feel he needs to meet everyone. We cannot pit different survivor groups against each other. All their voices are important. The Taoiseach needs to engage with all of them.
