Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I believe she is correct; all of us must bear in mind that uncertainty around raising expectations and hope. We are providing for this intervention, and in particular, for DNA identification to enable identification as far as is possible. We cannot be certain what is possible, however. The experts who spoke at the pre-legislative scrutiny stage reminded us of the significant possibility that identification may not be possible in every circumstance. The Senator is correct to remind us of that. We all need to bear that in mind, as difficult as it is for family members to hear.

The agency has a clear role in terms of providing for the dignified reburial of those remains where identification has not been successful. That will obviously be done in the context of the views of the wider survivor group at a particular site as to the appropriate way to ensure dignified reburial of remains that either have not been identified or perhaps are unclaimed by relatives, which in light of the age of some of these remains is a very real possibility.

In terms of the timeline, as soon as this legislation is passed, we will be seeking to provide for the agency to intervene at Tuam. We will seek to get that set up as quickly as possible. These agencies are designed as being of relatively small size. This ensures that the process of establishing an agency is as uncomplicated as possible, although bear in mind, it will have to have expertise across a range of areas with regard to the exhumation but also the identification in terms of actual employees and other skills that can be contracted out.

We are also particularly conscious of time, which is the point the Senator made. Everything in this area is time sensitive, particularly considering the ages of relatives. Provision was made for an administrative collection of DNA. That has been delayed due to Covid-19, which is completely understandable. It is a face-to-face exercise that has to be witnessed, and therefore, involves people in close contact. Certainly, however, as soon as we see wider provision of vaccinations across the community, we will be seeking to run and initiate that administrative scheme as quickly as possible in order that we can gather and bank DNA to permit identification