Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My question is more to do with the compatibility of two legislative measures. I raised issues about historical records as they relate to genealogy on Committee Stage and I was reassured by what the Minister said on some aspects of that but the Bill defines birth, death and marriage records as personal records. I attended an event recently where the Minister for Social Protection was helping to launch the online indexes of the General Register Office. Regarding the actual records, she announced that there would be a change in the relationship. My understanding is that it would become a much more public process but that a time limit would apply, it being 100 years for births, 50 years for deaths and 75 years for marriages. Is one legislative measure compatible with the other? Will those records become public records within those time limits as opposed to personal records as defined by this legislation?

Has thought been given to the issues that might be thrown up relating to the terms of reference for the inquiry into the mother and baby homes? Are there issues that have been considered in the context of that inquiry? To take the example of the Magdalen women, I found it difficult to work through a number of cases with some of my constituents. They are believed because the institutions' records are available but general records from the Department of the Environment, where there would have been a linkage with local government and the Poor Law, may not contain the persons' names but by virtue of the fact that they do not, it disproves something that is being taken as proof. In that situation, access to records has a bearing on the individual. Has that been considered in the context of freedom of information or does it need to be considered?

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