Dr. Sarah-Anne Buckley:

I thank the committee for the invitation to meet it today. I agree with Ms Catriona Crowe’s sentiments that this matter is important to academics and will affect how 20th century social and political history is written.

I am a lecturer in history at the National University of Ireland Galway, the president of the Women's History Association of Ireland and the chair of the Irish History Students Association. I am also the co-PI - co-principal investigator - of the Tuam home oral history project. As an academic, I have been writing and researching the history of child welfare and institutionalisation in Ireland for over 15 years. I am a recognised international authority on the subject.

In this brief submission, I wish to speak to the Retention of Records Bill as a historian with an understanding of the role of historians in State commissions and investigations, as well as the opportunities we have to instil the principles of transitional justice, historical justice and historical accountability in regard to the history of residential care. I also speak as a teacher and supervisor who has struggled with gaining access to bodies of records for my entire career, particularly those from religious orders and, at times due to lack of resources, those in State hands. As a result, I can see the effect this has on the historical record and on the trust which survivors, academics and the public place in the State and State bodies.

I therefore argue strongly not for the Bill but for a stronger National Archives that is fully resourced and has the independence and support needed for such a pivotal State institution.

We are not alone in dealing with these types of histories. We should view it as an opportunity as opposed to a contentious process. Members can read in my submission the list of countries I believe we should echo. Sealing records and denying survivors access to personal records is not an approach that has proved successful elsewhere. We must learn from international best practice and trust the expertise of academics in Ireland.

There are appropriate and ethical ways to preserve and give access to different types of records, for example, administrative records, survivor testimonies and private records from religious and other bodies and State or semi-State bodies. Survivors should be granted immediate access to their personal information if they so wish. They should be assisted and not resisted in this regard. The remaining records should be subjected to the rules in the National Archives legislation. As others have said, the National Archives Act 1986 is suitable and appropriate as a legislative basis to deal with the records of Ireland’s institutional past. Resources are an issue for the National Archives and this needs to be addressed at governmental level. Processes of anonymisation, redaction and ethically informed archival practices are sufficient to address concerns regarding uncontested allegations contained in records.

I fully support the idea of a National Archives child care-related records advisory board to work in conjunction with the existing National Archives advisory committee and would advocate for the involvement of national and international historical expertise as part of this.