Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to express my very serious concern over this proposal to seal the records from the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse for 75 years. The Ryan report very clearly called for this valuable information to be preserved and not destroyed and that is correct. On the back of that, there should have been widespread consultation with survivors and their families to reach some sort of consensus as to the future of these files. As far as I can see, that did not happen and instead we are told that the Government is going to seal this material in the National Archives until almost 2095 thereby making it inaccessible for future generations.

There is clearly an option that would involve either redacting or anonymising these files so that no individual can be identified. How did the Government explore this? I do not buy the excuse we saw reported recently in the media where the Department of Education and Skills claimed that anonymising these files would rob them of their historical significance. The files would not be permanently altered. Anonymised versions can be released and the full files released at a later date. I do not see how releasing anonymised versions of the files could in any way undermine the right to privacy and confidentiality of those who engaged with the commission or the redress board. I saw one survivor quoted in the media as describing the sealing of these files as another cover-up. This person says she is aware of some survivors who want their files released after their deaths so that their families know what they went through. She also notes that some survivors may have a very different view but they should at least have been asked.

I agree with the Minister when he says it is essential to ensure that we never forget the abuse that was perpetrated against innocent children and that future generations can be made aware of and understand what took place but I fail to see how completely sealing these documents for the rest of the century and even after that and only making them available for scrutiny under very strict conditions in any way achieves that. I appeal to the Minister to talk to survivors and their families and to have consultations about this.

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