Ms Eileen Molloy:

I thank the Chairman and the members for the opportunity to discuss the Retention of Records Bill 2019. As a past resident of an institution for all of my childhood - from 11 months to 16 years - I would like to have my records. I am speaking for me.

Attending the Residential Institutions Redress Board was a traumatic time for all the survivors with whom I have been in contact. That is the feedback we have been getting. We had to reveal our stories to doctors, solicitors, family members, psychiatrists and counsellors. As that was a requirement for attending the board, it had to be done. Under normal circumstances, we probably would not have revealed this information, apart from to someone we were comfortable telling it to. It was difficult to recall our childhood at the best of times. The members can imagine how exhausting, mentally and physically, it would have been and how it affected us at that time.

One of the most stressful things we had to endure was that it was very difficult to take in the full extent of what was going on. Any such records - medical reports, psychological reports and more - were often submitted by the solicitor to the redress board without the survivor seeing them.

It is very important that any survivor who wants to avail of these personal records should have the freedom to do so. I do not think our personal information can be used in the future as history. It is our history right now and should be made available to us while we are still alive. It may give us a much clearer picture as to what actually happened and who we really are. Most people who were not raised in institutions can apply for their records with much more ease. Why is it so difficult for us to do the same? Life was difficult enough for us as children. Why should we have to fight for what really belongs to us? It is so wrong.

I appeal to all members to reconsider their line of discussion about sealing our records for 75 years. I ask the committee to take into consideration the fact that this is what most survivors want. We are not responsible either for our past or for the situation in which we find ourselves in respect of this Bill. I thank the committee for its time.