Labour TD Seán Sherlock spoke about, Dr James Deeny Chief Medical Adviser of the Republic of Ireland, who worked in the Bessborough mother and baby home.
He got choked up as he spoke about a report where the children were described as “miserable scraps of humanity, wisened and emancipated and almost all had rashes and sores all over their bodies, hands and heads”.
“Forgive me for getting upset, Leas Ceann Comhairle, that has to be dealt with, we have to deal with it face on,” he told the Dáil.
Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carrol MacNeill also had to hold back tears as she spoke about the “animalistic” scream that came from a mother who had found out that her baby had been taken away from the home for adoption without notice or consent.