Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs

General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill: Discussion

Ms Sinéad Fitzpatrick:

If I may add to that, in terms of building participation and the survivors' voices into the legislation, that is possible technically also. There are different stages in the Bill in terms of deciding whether to intervene to set up the agency part, the exhumation part, and survivor engagement should and can be built into each and every stage. It would be important, if there is to be meaningful engagement, that that be reflected in the legislation. It is clearly reflected in this part of the process, which is important, but it can be expressly and explicitly built in as an obligation on the Government and on the relevant State agencies to actively engage and seek the views of survivors and relevant family members as they progress through the process in the context of mass graves. Every situation is different and every individual has a different need or wish in this context, and their voices must be heard.

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