Michael Conaghan (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The overriding consideration is that the State has a duty to society and to all of us to ensure that matters such as these are not forgotten and that the records are not obliterated, when people will argue in the future about what happened and did not happen to many young people. It is important that those records are retained and that the State gives a reasonable time, in so far as it can, in terms of protecting people's identities. Regarding the passage of time and 75 years, one can never copperfasten that. However, the availability of the data as a standing reminder of the dreadful things that happened must be retained, so we are not left after whatever number of years have passed guessing what happened, using hearsay or trying to interpret something that is almost a lost memory. The actual data is the basic requirement that society needs.

The general point is that there is an overriding and over-arching obligation on the State. There is no perfect way of doing this. One is always going to touch a nerve or reach an edge or verge where one is not sure whether to step on one side or the other.

That is a human predicament with all of this type of undertaking. The State has probably done the best job it can.