Ms Doireann Ansbro:

I thank the committee for the invitation to speak today. I am here with my colleague Ms Elizabeth Carthy, and both of us will be happy to answer any questions.

The ICCL is an independent NGO that works to promote and protect human rights in Ireland. The ICCL does not represent particular groups but, rather, works to ensure the Government fulfils its human rights obligations in all relevant law and policy. In our submission to the committee, we analysed the general scheme of the Bill in light of Ireland's human rights obligations and made a number of recommendations.

As other speakers have done, we underline the vital importance of taking a survivor-centred and family-centred approach to this legislative process, and of doing so at all stages of implementation. We have to acknowledge that survivors and family members are a diverse group and have a variety of needs and wishes. It is, therefore, vital that legislation on burials not close any doors or pose undue obstacles. This includes ensuring that inquests can be held where appropriate.

Institutional burials and mass grave sites imply violations of a range of human rights, including the right to life. Survivors and families have the right to an effective remedy, which includes the right to equal and effective access to justice, reparation for harm suffered and access to relevant information concerning the violations and reparation mechanisms. Crucially, the State has an obligation to effectively investigate unlawful or suspicious deaths. Taking reasonable steps to identify the deceased person and to determine the cause and circumstances of death are key components of this obligation.

The Government has previously acknowledged the importance of taking a transitional justice approach in the context of mother and baby homes. The key pillars of a transitional justice approach are the rights to truth, justice and reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence.

In its current form, the Bill has significant problems from both human rights and transitional justice perspectives. First, it impedes an effective investigation into the deaths of those buried at mass grave sites as it disapplies the jurisdiction of the coroner; the legislation does not apply if the human remains at the site were "buried there following death in violent or unnatural circumstances" or if there is an ongoing criminal investigation. This limits the scope of the Bill and appears to indicate a presumption by the Government that institutional burials were not preceded by violent or unnatural circumstances. This does not stand up from an evidentiary perspective given that we know the cause of death for many babies in mother and baby homes, especially in the earlier half of the century, was registered as malnourishment, indicating severe neglect, nor does it stand up from a human rights perspective given that the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has stated, "Mass graves are crime scenes".

Under the current draft Bill, complex and challenging requirements must be met to set up an agency. It provides overly broad discretion to the Government, additional broad criteria, an unclear proportionality assessment and overly restrictive obstacles. A particularly problematic restriction is a time limitation of 70 years. The rationale for this is unclear.

The lack of transparency regarding the agency's documents and records is also of concern. The Bill effectively provides for the sealing of documents and records for a period of 30 years. This is problematic and is inconsistent with transitional justice principles, in particular the right to truth. Access to information is a key right that has taken on particular significance in the context of justice for mother and baby homes survivors and their families.

Overall, we consider that the Bill lacks a rights-based, survivor-centred approach and is inconsistent with a transitional justice approach. We recommend that the Government take one of two possible approaches, namely, either significantly reform the Bill in line with international human rights law and transitional justice principles, or amend existing legislation to provide for relevant powers for existing bodies such as the coroner to address institutional burials. We recommend that Ireland ratify the UN convention against enforced disappearances, as this provides a clear roadmap for dealing with enforced disappearances and is relevant for addressing mass graves and institutional burials. Finally, we note this is one component of the Government's overall response to the severe and systematic human rights violations that occurred in mother and baby homes. There is a broader need for the Government to respect its human rights obligations and transitional justice principles throughout this response and we call on it to do so.