Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Government received the second interim report of Judge Yvonne Murphy on the commission of inquiry into mother and baby homes in the second half of 2016. When will the interim report be published? Cabinet meetings in this Government's term rarely extend into lunchtime, yet the Government is sitting on a report that is very significant for many people who are interested in what happened in mother and baby homes. I understand it is doing so out of fear that it contains reference, albeit no detailed analysis, to a potential redress scheme. Sitting on and failing to publish the report is deeply insulting to people who were in mother and baby homes. It also means the work of the commission, which is due to be completed next year, is not being taken seriously. Will the Tánaiste indicate by what date the Government will publish the interim report? Will the redress issue, which is apparently referred to in the report, be addressed by the Government?

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