Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank Deputy Whitmore and the Social Democrats for bringing this Private Members' motion to the Dáil. Like every Deputy here, I have received hundreds of emails from survivors in respect of the report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation. There is a common thread in the emails I have received, the conversations I have had with survivors and those I have heard speaking on the radio. To say that there is extreme disappointment with the report, is an understatement. It is an appalling situation that a commission which could have gone some way to help heal the trauma of those who suffered, has simply now added insult to injury.

The findings of the report are strenuously contested by those who gave evidence to the commission. For example, the following findings are contested: that the institutions involved provided a refuge; that there is no evidence that women were forced into them and were free to leave; that there is very little evidence that children were forcibly taken from their mothers; that there is no evidence of the denial of pain relief during labour; no evidence of discrimination against mixed race children or those with disabilities; no evidence of injury to children in vaccine trials; that criticism of Tusla in respect of the provision information and tracing is "unfair and misplaced"; and that Diocesan records and those of religious orders are their property, and they have the right to decide on who accesses them. In cases where mothers were in institutions when their babies died, the report states that "it is possible that [she] knew the burial arrangements or would have been told if [she] asked".

These statements and findings in the report are incredible. They come nowhere near the truth of what happened, what these institutions were for and the experience of those who went through the horror of incarceration in them. Further, the survivors who gave evidence found that recordings of their testimonies had been destroyed. They were told that transcripts were made from the audio and tape recordings were wiped. At a stroke, the ability of those who gave evidence to refute erroneous accounts of their testimonies was eliminated. It was outrageous and very possibly a criminal offence. The destruction of evidence breaches sections 31 and 43 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has also made the point that the action breached GDPR legislation. It supports the extension of the commission beyond 28 February.

All evidence should be transferred to the relevant Minister. The destruction of evidence dates back to October 2020. Why did the Minister not act immediately, and not four months after the report was issued to him? The Minister, his Department and the commission have been forced to the find the testimonies, only through huge pressure, activity and people power. These so-called "disaster files" must first be accessed by witnesses who want them. It must be confirmed by the witnesses that the files are the testimonies that they gave and if not witnesses must be able to find out why. That cannot be done in three days. The Minister must act, and the commission must be extended beyond 28 February.

Full access to the entire archive of files in the commission by those affected must be given. The Minister must legislate to provide unconditional access to birth certificates for adopted people. It is not too late to salvage something from this debacle and to give survivors and their adopted children the right to the truth, to which they are entitled under international and EU law. I ask the Minister to stop the re-traumatisation of survivors and to extend the life of the commission. He should at least give some trust back to the survivors who have been retraumatised over the past 50, 60 and 80 years.

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