Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will take the questions in order. I have received a copy of the book Deputy Bacik referred to, but I have not yet had time to read it, so I cannot comment on the assertions made by the authors or adjudicate on them. In relation to records relating to Magdalen laundries, major work is currently under way to establish a central repository of records within the national centre for research and remembrance. The repository will encompass records related to industrial schools, reformatories, Magdalen laundries, mother and baby homes and related institutions.

In April 2022, a steering group comprising the main State stakeholders involved in the development of the national centre was established. The group is responsible for developing the overall vision of the centre and for providing strategic oversight for the design, development, co-ordination and implementation of composite elements. Work on the creation of the central repository of records to sit within the national centre is being led by the National Archives under the auspices of the steering group. It is envisaged that the repository will include the historical records of the institutions, including industrial schools, Magdalen laundries, mother and baby and county home institutions and orphanages. Work on the creation of the central repository is assisted by a dedicated legal and legislative subgroup which is considering whether any additional legislative measures are needed for the creation and management of the archive. This includes the protection of records.

The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 already provides an important foundation for the creation of the central repository. This is because it mandates the safeguarding of relevant records, including where such records are privately held. However, privately held records relating to Magdalen laundries would fall outside the scope of the safeguarding provisions. This is something that was being explored further as a matter of priority.

Deputy McDonald asked about contributions by religious orders to the various compensation schemes that the Government has set up. We believe all relevant parties have a shared moral and ethical obligation to assist with appropriate actions in response to the commission's reports. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, has commenced an engagement with all religious congregations and church leaders with a view to discussing how they might contribute to the payment scheme. However, it should be noted there is no clear mechanism by which we could require them or force them to do so.

In relation to children who were boarded out, it is the view of the Government that a statutory inquiry into the practice of boarding out is not likely to provide additional information to what was provided in the commission's final report. It was decided that a general payment based on time spent in institutions was the best option to provide for a non-adversarial approach to the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. This approach unfortunately does not cater for the circumstances of all people who were boarded out which, given the very individual experiences would have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. However, if a person spent time in an institution prior to being boarded out as a child, they would qualify for the payment scheme based on their time spent in the institution. The Government's action plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby and county home institutions includes other measures that will provide assistance to those who were boarded out as children such as, for example, birth information and tracing, and commitments to restorative resolution.

Some Deputies raised the issue of reconfiguration, and while I know people have different views on that, the most important view is that we try to respect the wishes of parents and indeed the parents of future pupils of particular schools. We must also take into account the views of staff. I am somebody who supports greater choice around education and education ethos. I appreciate this is easier to do in urban areas than rural areas. However, in my constituency, for example, there are Educate Together, national schools and secondary schools, Catholic Archdiocese schools, a Church of Ireland school, Gaelscoileanna and a number of community and national schools.

After a survey of parents in Tyrrelstown a decision was made to establish a new Le Chéile secondary school. Similarly, in the Castleknock area, a new secondary school will soon be formally opened under the patronage of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust. It is important to take into account what parents actually want and what their wishes are. I do not agree with forced secularisation of our education system.

If a school is working well and parents are happy with how it is working, that view should be respected.

On more information being provided, the Department of Education sets out that there are 166 multidenominational or interdenominational primary schools, an increase of seven on last year, and this is part of a longer-term trend, with the number of multidenominational primary schools rising from 85 to 165. That is an increase of nearly 50% in the past ten years. At post-primary level, the number of multidenominational schools has increased by 16 from 343 in 2011 to 359 now. During the period from 2011, when the current arrangement on the establishment of new schools was introduced, 53 new primary schools and 50 new post-primary schools have been established. Of these, 52 of the 53 are multidenominational and one is interdenominational. When it comes to post-primary schools, there are 50 new ones, of which 44 are multidenominational, five Catholic and one Church of Ireland.

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