Debate contribution: Inquiry (Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill: Final Stage

Debate contribution by Mrs Linda Dillon on 30 June 2026.

MLA: Mrs Linda Dillon
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 30 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Executive Committee Business
Heading: Inquiry (Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill: Final Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5653131

Text

I begin by offering the apologies of my colleague Carál Ní Chuilín, who cannot be here today owing to ill health. Carál has been very much invested in the work on the legislation. The Bill is very important to her, given the work that she does in the Assembly and the people with whom she has personally worked and engaged over many years. I am sure that Carál is very sorry not to be here today to meet all of you in the Public Gallery. Like others, I acknowledge your being here today. For me, that is the most important thing. We have said many things in the Chamber — we could talk all day and says lots of things — but none of us can truly understand or reflect what you have been through. My colleague Áine is the Member who probably comes closest to having a true understanding of what you have had to live with and endure, and continue to live with and endure, because it has affected, and will affect, you all your life, and we know that those effects are transgenerational. I acknowledge that. There is nothing that we can do through legislation to remove what you have been through. I hope, however, that you know that this is the long-awaited acknowledgement that you deserve. We are genuinely sorry that there are people who never lived to see this day, and it is important to acknowledge those individuals today.
Some lived to see the beginning of the campaign but not the Bill getting to this stage. Many did not even see the beginning of the campaign and did not believe that, in their lifetime — or anyone else's lifetime, for that matter — there would be an acknowledgement of what happened to them.
It is important to have that acknowledgement for the sake of history — so that the generations who come after us will understand what happened to you and what you went through. It is also important for our present and future: we must make sure that what happened to those women, girls and children never happens again. I am really worried about that when I look at what is happening in society today. Women, girls and children continue to suffer and continue be abused. In some cases, women and girls are more vulnerable than they ever were. We need to make sure that the legislation not only acknowledges what happened to you but protects women, girls and children in the future. We need to ensure that what we do makes things better, and that we do not just say, "It happened. We're sorry. Let's forget about it and move on". We can never allow that to happen. You showed bravery by speaking up. You spoke up, yes, so that people would know what had happened to you, but you also spoke up so that it would not happen to others. You did it for other people; you did it for the many people who are watching online, or not watching at all, and are, for whatever reason, not able to acknowledge what happened to them for themselves. You are doing it for them. I thank all of you. As the Chair of the Committee said, the light of truth only comes through if somebody lifts the lid, and you did that, so thank you very much.

564 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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