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

I reiterate that this Bill is not site-specific to Tuam. We all recognise the need to excavate the site in Tuam and that process will begin as soon as this legislation is passed. A specific decision was taken that this legislation is not site-specific. The issue that is being addressed here brings us back to that question of at what point the Government and the State make the very significant intervention that we propose to make with Tuam, which is the excavation of human remains. We have to recognise in our culture the importance of leaving the dead undisturbed, and balancing that with circumstances where the burial is manifestly inappropriate, like in Tuam, there is the question of whether an intervention should take place. As we have said before with regard to other sites, there are differing views as to whether this sort of intervention, or an intervention of this scale, is the correct action for the State to take, which is why that term “manifestly inappropriate”, defined around having regard to a number of points, is set out.

This Bill is designed to allow for that lawful right for the State to intervene where a manifestly inappropriate burial has taken place. Under existing law, the State does not have the power to intervene with the level of depth and comprehensiveness that is set out in this Bill. There is not just the question of excavating and recovering the remains, but the question of that detailed analysis afterwards, leading to a DNA process and leading to reburial at the end. As such, in light of the scale of this intervention, we do use this term “manifestly inappropriate” and that is defined having regard to criteria set out in section 8(1), as follows:

[T]he human remains-

(a) are uncoffined,

(b) are buried in such a manner that they would not have complied with the requirements, at the time of such burial, specified in the Burial Grounds Regulations,

(c) are buried in a way that would not reasonably be considered to provide a dignified interment, or

(d) are buried collectively and in a manner or in a location that is repugnant to common decency and would reasonably have been so considered at the time the burials took place.

These criteria are included in this legislation to ensure sufficient consideration is given to key factors before any intervention can take place at a burial site. They are there for a reason. They are there to recognise the scale of what is proposed within this legislation. As such, I cannot accept this set of amendments.