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

I welcome the submission made by the Clann project to the commission of investigation. I am not in a position to comment in detail on the report, as it was submitted in the context of the commission’s ongoing work, but I thank the Clann project for its work. It is important to recognise that a statutory commission is fully independent in the conduct of its investigations. The precise timing and approach to the gathering and examination of evidence are matters for the commission to decide and progress. The decision to hear evidence in public is a matter for the commission. It is open to an individual to make a case to the commission to do so.

The confidential committee module of the commission of investigation was established to provide a forum for persons who were formerly resident in the homes or who worked in the institutions to provide personal accounts of their experiences in confidence and in private as informally as is possible in the circumstances. I acknowledge the courage it took in providing testimony on personal experiences to inform the commission’s work. The crucial value of first-hand witness testimony to the statutory investigation is reflected in the arrangements establishing the commission. It is open to those who have given testimony at the confidential committee to contact the commission to make arrangements to view the transcripts of the evidence they gave to the committee, if they so wish. The commission will produce a report on the confidential committee’s investigations.

The Commission of Investigation Act 2004 provides direction on what will happen to the records once the commission submits its reports. What will happen to the records will depend on their nature. I intend to discuss these matters with the chairperson of the commission in due course. Before the dissolution of the commission, the chairperson is obliged to deposit all evidence received and all documents created by or for the commission with the prescribed Minister. It is then up to the prescribed Minister to decide what will happen to the records. As the prescribed Minister, I will be obliged to balance all relevant parties’ rights and requests, as well as observing due process, natural justice and respect the Constitution when making a decision on the records, but as a matter of principle, I am supportive of transparency and the widest possible access to them.

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