Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 6, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:

“PART 3

PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN RECORDS

Definitions (Part 3)

7.(1) In this Part—

“Act of 1986” means the

“Act of 1991” means the

“Act of 2022” means the

“adopted person” has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Act of 2022;

“boarded out arrangement” has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Act of 2022;

“care arrangement” means— (a) a nursed out arrangement,

(b)a boarded out arrangement,

(c)an arrangement under which a child was placed with a foster parent—

(i)subject to subparagraph (ii), within the meaning of section 36(2) of the Act of 1991, or

(ii)where the arrangement concerned was made before the coming into operation of the provision referred to in subparagraph (i), in accordance with the law in force in the State at the time the arrangement was made,

whether or not the foster parent became the adoptive parent of the child,

(d)an arrangement made under section 36(1)(d) of the Act of 1991, under which a child was placed with a relative,

(e)an arrangement under which a child was placed as a resident of an institution, or

(f)an arrangement under which a child was placed with a prospective adoptive parent, whether or not the prospective adoptive parent became the adoptive parent of the child;

“civil partner” shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of the

“cohabitant” shall be construed in accordance with section 172(1) of the

“County Home” means an institution specified in column 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the

“Director” means the Director of the National Archives;

“family member”, in relation to a person, means a spouse, civil partner, cohabitant, child, parent, sibling, half-sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew (whether of the whole blood or the half-blood), grandniece or grandnephew of the person;

“industrial school, reformatory or related institution” means an institution that is specified in the Schedule to the

“information source” means a person in possession of a relevant record, but does not include—

(a)a relevant person, in so far as he or she is in possession of a relevant record that relates solely to himself or herself,

(b)a family member of a person referred to in paragraph (a) in so far as the family member is in possession of a relevant record that solely relates to the person concerned, or

(c)a public body;

“institution” means any of the following:

(a)a Mother and Baby Home;

(b)a County Home;

(c)a Magdalen laundry;

(d)an industrial school, reformatory or related institution;

(e)an orphanage;

(f)an institution designated by order of the Minister under section 8(1)*;

“local authority” has the same meaning as it has in the

“Magdalen laundry” means an institution specified in the Schedule to the

“Minister” means the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth;

“Mother and Baby Home” means an institution specified in column 2 of Part 2 of

Schedule 1 to the

“nursed out arrangement” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2022; “orphanage” means a residential premises that accommodated children whose parent, parents, guardian or guardians were deceased, unable to care for them or perceived to be unable to care for them;

“person who was the subject of an incorrect birth registration” shall be construed in accordance with section 2(2) of the Act of 2022;

“possession”, in relation to a relevant record, includes control over the relevant record;

“public body” means— (a) a Department of State,

(b)a local authority,

(c)a body (other than a company) established by or under an enactment, or

(d)a company established pursuant to a power conferred by or under an enactment, and financed wholly or partly by—

(i)moneys provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government, or

(ii)the issue of shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government; “record” includes:

(a)a book;

(b)a map;

(c)a plan;

(d)a drawing;

(e)papers;

(f)a file;

(g)a photograph;

(h)a film;

(i)a microfilm and other micrographic record;

(j)a sound recording;

(k)a pictorial record;

(l)a magnetic tape or disc;

(m)an optical or video disc;

(n)a machine-readable record;

(o)documentary or processed material;

(p)a copy or part of any thing which falls within any of the preceding paragraphs (a) to (o);

“relevant body” means a person—

(a)who operated or was responsible for the running of an institution,

(b)who was involved in the placement of a relevant person (within the meaning of paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of the definition of “relevant person”)— (i) for adoption,

(ii)into a care arrangement,

(iii)in the case of a relevant person who is a person that was the subject of an incorrect birth registration, with the person or persons who assumed the role of a parent or parents of the relevant person, or

(iv)in an institution, or

(c)designated by order of the Minister as a relevant body under section 8(2)*;

“relevant person” means—

(a)an adopted person,

(b)a person who was the subject of a care arrangement,

(c)a person who was the subject of an incorrect birth registration,

(d)a person who was a resident in an institution, or

(e)the mother (within the meaning of the Act of 2022) of a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c);

“relevant record” means, subject to subsections (2) and (3), a record relating to an institution or a relevant body and includes a record— (a) relating to—

(i)a relevant person,

(ii)a member of staff or management of a relevant body or a person working in an institution,

(iii)the financial records, accounts and commercial activities of an institution or a relevant body,

(iv)the administration, regulatory compliance activities and governance matters, including any inspection records or reports of an institution or a relevant body,

(v)contemporaneous or periodical accounts of activities of a relevant body or in an institution (including records commonly known as “house annals”),

(vi)any burials overseen, or carried out by or on behalf of a relevant body on a premises in which the relevant body operated or elsewhere,

(vii)the establishment or management of a relevant body or institution, or

(viii)the buildings and grounds associated with an institution, or

(b) designated by order of the Minister as a relevant record under section 8(3)*.

(2)For the purposes of this Part, a record is not a relevant record if it relates to—

(a)anything that occurred in, or in relation to, an institution, or

(b)an activity of a relevant body, at any time after 31 December 1998.

(3)In this Part, a reference to—

(a)a “record” includes a reference to a class of records, and

(b)a “relevant record” includes a reference to a class of relevant records.

(4)In this Part, a reference to the “public interest” in preserving a record shall be construed as a reference to the public interest in ensuring the preservation of the record for purposes including the following:

(a)ensuring, having regard in particular to the purposes referred to in paragraph (b), that the record does not become incapable of being accessed; (b) enabling future access to the record, so that—

(i)persons, in particular relevant persons, may obtain information contained in, and avail of education and undertake research in relation to, the record, and

(ii)society in general, and in particular relevant persons, may obtain an enhanced understanding of the systems and experiences of

institutionalisation, and placement in care arrangements, of persons;

(c)facilitating the archiving and memorialising of the record concerned; and

(d)ascertaining the quantity and nature of relevant records in the possession of information sources.”.

The amendments in this group introduce a new Part to provide for the preservation of defined categories of records held by private actors so that they are preserved in the public interest. The private actors would include anyone who holds records with regard to mother and baby and county home institutions, Magdalen laundries, industrial schools and reformatories and orphanages as well as the bodies that ran or oversaw these institutions.

They would also include those who hold records relating to adoption agencies and those who were involved in placing people for adoption, into a care arrangement, into an institution or with the persons who assumed the role of parents to them in the case of illegal birth registration.

Amendment No. 9 defines the key terms used in the new Part 3, including "relevant record", "institution", "relevant body", "information source" and "public interest".

Amendment No. 10 provides that the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth may designate by order an institution, a relevant body or a relevant record. While the legislation aims to be as encompassing as possible, this section is included to ensure that any relevant institution, bodies or records that come to light and which are not covered can be added as needed.

Amendment No. 11 places an obligation on any private holder of a relevant record to preserve it, making it an offence to destroy, mutilate, falsify or fail to maintain relevant records or to export them from the State. It also provides that the director of the National Archives may direct a person or body to provide a statement outlining the relevant records in their possession.

Amendment No. 12 provides for offences under the legislation. The offences mirror those set out in the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, namely, on summary conviction, a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both, or on conviction on indictment, a fine not exceeding €50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.

Amendment No. 13 sets out standard provisions for the service of a notice under the legislation.

Amendment No. 14 amends the National Archives Act to include the new functions assigned to the director under the legislation.

Legislation of this nature has been called for by survivors and former residents, affected persons, their families and advocates. They want to ensure that records which support understanding of their identity and the institutional systems which shaped their life experience in such significant ways are preserved. While the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 provides for some safeguarding of records in private hands, its scope relates to identity information for those who were adopted or who have questions in relation to their origins. This legislation is broader in scope and will cover administrative and other records related to those institutions and bodies. I am bringing forward this Committee Stage amendment to this Bill to allow this urgent and important legislation to travel quickly through the necessary Stages in the Oireachtas.

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