Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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61. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when he will formally establish the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes and publish the terms of reference for same; if he has secured additional resources for his Department's budget to fund the work of the proposed commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28269/14]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I seek an update on the establishment of a commission of investigation into mother and baby homes. On establishing a cross-departmental group to review this matter, the Minister indicated the scoping process would be complete by the end of June, which was yesterday. Has the process concluded and does the Minister have further announcements to make regarding the terms of reference of the independent commission of investigation?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The commission of investigation into concerns relating to mother and baby homes will be statutory and independent and will operate under the Commission of Investigations Act 2004. The process of developing detailed terms of reference for the commission is being supported by a high-level, cross-departmental review committee. The report from the review committee was submitted to Cabinet this morning. The next stage will be for the Government to consider proposed terms of reference as soon as practicable.

I am deeply aware that people are living with the daily reality of these painful experiences. For this reason, establishing an appropriate inquiry which is capable of effectively addressing these important matters in a sensitive and timely manner is my primary concern. It is my intention to bring a resolution before the Houses prior to the summer recess to facilitate the making of an order to formally establish the commission of investigation.

It is my intention to continue to remain in contact with the Deputy and other spokespersons to seek the widest possible consensus on these matters. In this regard, I thank Deputy Troy for his engagement on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party. I had at least one meeting with the Deputy and I invited him today to engage with me further on ongoing developments. I thank the spokespersons of other parties and representatives of the Independent Deputies.

With regard to funding, a key task of the initial scoping exercise is to ensure a realistic approach is taken to investigating these important and sensitive issues.

Our approach should have regard to the facts established through recent inquiries into related institutions, and the general experience gained in conducting similar investigations into matters of public importance. The House is only too well aware of previous tribunals and commissions that generated a great deal of expense and, due to their protracted nature, took much longer to arrive at conclusions than those most centrally concerned would have wished.

The additional resources that will be required to facilitate this inquiry will be considered by Government in tandem with decisions necessary to finalise the terms of reference and establish the commission of investigation.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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As a party, we welcome the establishment of this independent commission. I acknowledge and thank the Minister for briefing and consulting us, as members of the Opposition. I got the Minister's invitation and will respond to it today.

I ask the number of submissions the Minister got from advocacy groups and the NGO sector. Has the Minister received many submissions from them and has he engaged with and consulted the groups which represent those who suffered in this issue? It is important that this sensitive issue be progressed in a non-partisan manner, and the Minister is doing so thus far.

On the specific question of funding, has the Minister secured or will he be able to secure additional funding to ensure that the investigation into legacy issues will not impact and infringe on vulnerable children of today who need the resources of the Department?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Again, I express my appreciation to Deputy Troy for the manner in which he has approached this entire issue. I undertake to keep him, on behalf of his party, fully informed of developments.

On the cost issue, there are a number of matters to be considered, not least the direct financial and staffing requirement of the commission of investigation. Once the commission of investigation is established and is setting about its task as agreed by the Houses of the Oireachtas, there will be an element of departmental oversight which will involve staffing and, consequently, expenditure of funds. There is, as Members will be aware, the heightened priority and workload given to my Department in the context of the awareness of the need to progress the importance and urgency of adoption reform. I am conscious of the cost implications. I would be happy to engage with him further on the work to date.

In response to Deputy Troy's specific question as to the number of submissions received, I have received in excess of 100. I have met many of the advocacy groups, church leaders and other interested parties outside the House.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the fact that the Minister has been meeting these groups. It is important that there is a high level of engagement with these advocacy groups and the groups that are affected.

The Minister will be aware from talking to these groups that they are resolute in the requirement that this independent investigation covers all mother and baby homes. It is important from the outset, as I stated to the Minister privately when we met, that we get buy-in from the beginning because this is a critical issue and we want to ensure that it has the support of all parties in the House and of the groups affected.

The Minister might be able to expand further on that, perhaps not today but when we meet at a later stage, and confirm the types of issues that he will investigate. He mentioned forced adoption and illegal adoption, but in this area there are also the issues of the maltreatment of women and babies, the high mortality rates of children, and vaccine testing and medical trials. They are all issues. In his reply, the Minister might outline the areas and homes that will be investigated and reconfirm that he will maintain consultation with the affected parties and that the terms of reference will be established and published before the summer recess.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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As I have said before both here and elsewhere, I am anxious that we can forge a historic all-party consensus on this most sensitive issue. I will undertake to keep Deputy Troy, his party and others involved in the process, not only in a consultative role but also in a participative one. I believe that is important and I welcome Deputy Troy's acknowledgement of what has taken place to date.

I refer the Deputy to the motion as agreed by this House on 11 June which dealt with mother and baby homes, the arrangements for the burial of children, and the need to fully and accurately document the history of such homes. I will cite a small example of the scale involved because the breadth of the issue is huge. In Cork, the adoption section of the Child and Family Agency has received a total of 25,000 files from the Sacred Heart Adoption Society. In the context of the investigation, we will have to go through these documents as we deal with the sensitive issues involved to ensure that we have at this point in our history a full and detailed appraisal of what went on over the years. I am hoping to achieve a detailed history going back to the foundation of the State and up to the 1980s.

I wish to inform Deputy Troy that I intend to meet with him later this week.