Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter and providing me with an opportunity to discuss the publication of the second interim report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.

The commission was set up to inquire into the conditions in mother and baby homes and county homes in the period between 1922 and 1998. Following a short first interim report last July, the commission submitted a second interim report in September 2016. This report deals with a number of issues that had come to its attention during its work and analysis based on information collected up to August 2016.

Yesterday, I published the second interim report of the commission. It is now available on my Department's website. I have been mindful of the time it has taken to publish this report. It has, however, been necessary for me to engage with Cabinet colleagues on issues in the report that extend beyond my remit as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

The focus in this report is on children who were unaccompanied by their mothers in mother and baby homes and county homes. In its interim report published yesterday, the commission suggests that the exclusion of children who were resident in mother and baby homes and in county homes without their mothers from the residential institutions redress scheme, which was established in 2002, should be re-examined. The report states that the commission is satisfied that the institutions it is investigating are unquestionably the main such homes that existed during the 20th century. It does not currently recommend that other institutions be investigated. The commission is not recommending any changes to its terms of reference at this time. It may recommend further investigations when its current investigation is completed. It has not made findings to date that abuse occurred in these institutions but notes that its work is not yet complete.

The commission also recognises that people whose births were falsely registered have a need to establish their identities but that the false registration of births is a very difficult issue to investigate because of a lack of accurate records.

The Government has carefully examined the commission’s recommendation regarding redress, and has concluded that it is not possible to implement it. As Deputies will be aware, the residential institutions redress scheme has been closed since 2010. Following the publication of the Ryan report in May 2009, there was a range of requests and calls for the redress scheme to be extended. The then Government took a decision in 2010 not to extend the scheme. The Government in 2013 also decided not to extend the scheme. The then Minister for Education, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, said he found no basis to revisit the decision.

This Government is conscious that the commission has made no findings to date regarding abuse or neglect and believes it would not be appropriate to deal with the question of redress in advance of any conclusions on this issue by the commission. The challenges for Government in considering the recommendations of the commission at this interim stage of its work are clear from the findings of this report.

It is important to remember that the commission’s investigations are ongoing. The Commission’s final report is due in February next year. Its conclusions on this and all matters regarding the treatment of former residents will be studied very carefully at that point. My focus now is on assisting those who were unaccompanied as children in mother and baby homes and county homes, with a view to offering supports that will be of genuine and practical value to them. With this in mind, I will consult with them regarding the nature and type of services and supports in the area of health and well-being that they consider would be helpful to them at this stage. I will conclude this consultation by the end of June, and bring proposals to Government before the summer break, so that we can have appropriate supports in place as quickly as possible.

My Department is working with Tusla to support the provision of information to assist former residents who may wish to establish when they resided in a mother and baby home. I have asked Dr. James Gallen of the school of law and government, Dublin City University, to assist by mapping out a model of transitional justice. This would be a means of giving a voice to former residents of mother and baby homes and county homes. Dr. Gallen’s expertise in transitional justice will help to develop an approach.

I am also carrying out a scoping exercise to examine the possibility of broadening the commission’s terms of reference. This report is very helpful in focusing us on what may possibly emerge in the final report from the commission of investigation.

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