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

Photo of Seán SherlockSeán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Ansbro and Ms Carthy for coming before the committee. We are again seeing a consistent message from everyone who has submitted to the committee in respect of the flaws inherent within the legislation. It seems it has more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese and considerable work will have to be done to amend it to make it fit for purpose. It is encouraging to hear so many Government representatives on the committee, as well as Opposition members, coming together in what I interpret as one voice in respect of the need to amend the legislation.

Returning to the coronial process, there has been consistency in respect of the messages we heard from everyone from Ms Lohan to Professor Scraton and Dr. O'Rourke. Everybody has consistently said that this legislation could put us at variance with our Article 2 obligations. Does Ms Ansbro or the ICCL have a view on the coronial process as it is constituted and on whether the legislation as drafted deals sufficiently with the Article 2 provisions? Does either the legislation relating to the coronial process or the legislation we are discussing need to be amended to take account of the statement by the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to the effect that mass graves are crime scenes?

There is no ambiguity in what Ms Ansbro said or in what the UN rapporteur says and, therefore, there should be no ambiguity in regard to how the legislation should be constituted to deal with the rights of those who are interred in those graves, how they came to be there and what the causes were. I am trying to get a continuing sense of understanding of where the ICCL sits in respect of the current coronial system and whether Ms Ansbro agrees with statements made by other people who have submitted to the committee in respect of the Article 2 provisions. Do we need amended coronial jurisprudence or legislation, or should we buttress this legislation further?

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