A Senator has said a 'national voluntary collection' should be set up, to allow individuals and families to contribute to a redress package for survivors of Mother and Baby Homes.
Rónán Mullen told Newstalk Breakfast there was a community element to it.
He said the Mother and Baby Homes Commission's final report, which was published last week, showed "a sad and sobering picture of how women and children were failed by the State and by wider society - including institutions run by the religious orders and the church."
"But one thing I'm very struck by is the community and family dimension, which the report highlights".
"It strikes me, and speaking for myself in particular, I don't think there's a family in the country but had a connection with some aspect of this story".
He went on to give an example from his wider family "where good people failed to come up to the mark in terms of how they dealt with something in a way I wouldn't like to see happen today".
He said it is "not so much a question of blame", but "at a community level, there's something more than institutions involved here".
Senator Mullen denied he was trying to take the spotlight off the role of the Catholic church.
"I'm not trying to deflect from anything, only biased people would think that," he told Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ciara Kelly.
"I'm trying to draw us into a wider conversation where we observe how things happened and why things happened, and we're unflinching in looking for the truth about it".
"And that does involve understanding that there were economic, social factors [and] an obsession with social respectability".
Asked if people who were adopted should have access to their records, he said: "Oh yeah I would think that's very, very important - but I do think as well that if a person is vulnerable and in old age and were given a promise back in the past, their life mustn't be trampled on either".
And asked if the rights of birth parents trump the rights of adoptees, he replied: "If you're taking a humane approach to this, you're not going to be talking about one person's rights trumping another".
"You've got to have a compassionate approach."
"You shouldn't be turning this into a confrontation, this is about helping people in the present.
"It's not about your political agenda and it's not about my philosophical thoughts", he added.
