Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The process of this Bill and the Minister's work has not changed at all. He has come to the Chamber and said clearly that he refuses to listen to the arguments put forward and he will accept no amendments from the Opposition. That fits perfectly with the process so far, which has refused to listen to the Opposition, to the women and to the people who were born in those homes.

Hundreds of people who spent time in those homes are watching this debate in the Dáil from their sitting rooms. They will be saying that the Minister's stonewalling of these amendments is perfectly consistent with the Government's entire approach to their lives; there is no difference at all. It makes this whole process theatre. People come into the Chamber with nailed down perspectives on votes and amendments without taking into consideration the information behind them. The Minister is asking us to buy a pig in a poke. He is asking us to back him, that the Government will introduce further legislation in future, and will release reports in the future and that we should just trust them now. Why would any of the women or people watching from their sitting rooms trust the Government on this now? What has the Government given them that they would be able to trust it?

I will go through some of the amendments I tabled to ask why they were not considered logical amendments. One discusses relevant persons whose details are held in these records and who should have access to the records. The idea is to strike a fair and healthy balance regarding all the issues that have been raised, including consent, confidentiality, public interest and rights to one's records. The specific amendment ensures that relevant persons such as former residents of mother and baby homes will be able to access their own records. Another amendment provides that "Nothing in this Act shall be construed as denying a relevant person whose personal information is held by the agency, authority and/or Minister from accessing such data as is directly relevant to them". It almost feels futile to go through the content of these amendments given that the Minister has come in to stonewall this. It is heartbreaking to see a Green Party Minister do this. There was at least a varnish of an effort to work constructively with Opposition Members but that varnish has disappeared by now.

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