Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is only right that I begin my statement by acknowledging the deep hurt and trauma experienced, and still being experienced, by people affected by this issue. I am sure I am not alone in the House in saying that no other issue has seen so many people contact my office, by either phone or email or indeed in person. I have had a number of conversations with survivors about their experience. The period investigated by the mother and baby homes commission is a very dark chapter in the history of this country and one on which we have just begun to shine a light. Much more needs to be done to deal with this awful legacy.

I acknowledge the briefings provided by the Department and conversations I have had with the Minister in person to help me better understand the scope and intention of the Bill.

We need to be clear about what this legislation does and does not do and the consequences of not enacting it. I hear and understand some of the legitimate concerns of the Opposition and, indeed, Deputy Calleary, regarding the speed with which this legislation is passing through the House. We must also be clear, however, on the specific time constraints that make this necessary. Put simply, and as the Minister explained it to me, the Bill allows for the preservation of a database of records that will otherwise be lost on the dissolution of the commission at the end of this month. All the work and effort of compiling these records will be put beyond future use. This cannot be allowed to happen.

The intention here is not to seal records, it is to preserve them. As I understand it, information contained in the database will still be available under current law. I believe we will all acknowledge, however, that said law needs to be revisited. That is a significance and sensitive piece of work and I am aware the Minister will not countenance work of that nature being rushed. In view of the deficiencies of current legislation, I welcome the commitments the Minister has given to engage with the Attorney General's office in order to find a way forward on the issue of personal data access in the commission's archive, which is vitally important for former residents, and to ask the Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration to lead on this re-examination.

This issue is so big and runs so deep that everyone in this Chamber will agree that it needs to be given the time and space it deserves. The Oireachtas committee will allow that time and space for survivors and their representatives, legal experts and leading academics to forensically drill down into the issues. They are issues around access to personal information in the commission's archive, the rights to privacy and the real and deeply felt trauma the survivors still experience. The debate on this legislation has highlighted real difficulties and these need to be addressed. I have no doubt that the Minister will work closely with the committee towards finding a way forward for this vital work.

I will conclude as I began, by acknowledging the hurt of those people I have spoken to who are so deeply affected by this issue. These past few weeks in the run up to the debate on this legislation must have been incredibly difficult for them. I cannot begin to fathom how hard this debate has been for them. I am aware, however, that it is not the intention of the Minister or of this Bill to re-traumatise victims or deny their suffering or experience, but to preserve a vital record that would otherwise be lost. I would prefer, as I know the Minister would, to give this issue the time and space it deserves. I am confident that the Minister will make space for it. I do not believe, however, this House can allow these records to be lost to that future conversation. I understand that is the matter addressed in this Bill.

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