Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We need to extend the lifetime of the mother and baby homes commission and I support the motion put forward by the Social Democrats. By winding down the mother and baby homes commission now, we would, in effect, prevent the carrying out of full investigations, leaving remaining questions unanswered. We need to buy more time for the survivors in their search for truth and justice.

Last Thursday, it was confirmed that the recovery files, which could contain the 550 deleted recordings of witness testimony, had been found. These files were supposedly destroyed, then all of a sudden, a backup was discovered. They should be handed over to the Minister's Department to be forensically examined. The Minister immediately responded and asked that more information be provided within in 24 hours, according to weekend media reports. However, the information was not made available to the Minister within the requested time window. That, in itself, raises serious questions of both the Minister and the commission. Why did the Minister not act with greater urgency? Why did he simply issue a letter to the commission? Could the Minister not lift the phone or arrange a meeting to get to the bottom of this scandal? Could a team of top officials not be dispatched? The survivors deserve answers and the extension of the life of this commission may, at the very least, prove helpful in keeping the commission accountable.

Surely the Minister should be much more concerned about the fact that the witness testimonies were deleted, and that if the commission is dissolved on 28 February, no responsible entity will be held accountable or will be available to answer questions. Like every other Deputy, my office is inundated with emails, calls and messages from constituents, some of whom are survivors of the mother and baby homes. They need this commission to continue and access to their own information. It is time that this Government stopped playing cat and mouse with this issue and did the right thing.

The Minister has said that he is not opposing the motion. That is absolutely scandalous. By not allowing the life of the commission to be extended, he is opposing the motion. He should be honest and straight about it. He is not fooling the people. They are well aware of the games he is playing. He should be straight about it. He is opposing the motion but he cannot come out straight and do it. The Government's Deputies have it cornered and he cannot come out straight and do it. He has treated the people disgracefully.

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