Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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9. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes; the date by which she anticipates it will make its final report; and if she is satisfied by the progress of the commission to date. [37970/18]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to outline the status of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, the date on which she anticipates it will have a final report and whether she is satisfied with its progress to date. I also ask her to make a statement on the matter.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 13 together.

I thank Deputies Rabbitte and Maureen O'Sullivan for their questions. I know they are very interested in the work of the commission of investigation and supportive of former residents. Deputies will be aware that the commission of investigation is independent in the conduct of its statutory investigations. For this reason, I am not in a position to provide detailed progress updates on its work. Any available updates will be posted by the commission directly to its website.

The commission of investigation has prepared three interim reports to date, in July 2016, September 2016 and September 2017. I published all three reports and the commission is continuing with its work under the leadership of Judge Yvonne Murphy, Dr. William Duncan and Professor Mary Daly. It is open to the commission to provide interim reports at intervals of its choosing, although there is no specific requirement for it to do so. Should the commission provide further interim reports, I will similarly make these available as soon as possible after their consideration by the Government.

The commission confirmed the tragic discovery of juvenile remains interred on the site of the former home in Tuam in February 2017. A number of technical and legal reports have been examined by the interdepartmental group working to assist the Government in identifying an appropriate course of action in respect of the site. This work is at an advanced stage and I will bring my recommendations to the Government in the coming weeks. I visited Tuam again in July to meet former residents, their families and local residents. I was privileged to have been able to hear their views and concerns on this most sensitive matter directly. While there, I also visited the former site of the home.

At the commission's request, the Government agreed to extend its timeline for reporting to February 2019. I am satisfied that the commission is effectively using this additional time to listen to the personal experiences of former residents and to ensure crucial questions can be fully addressed. I know that many former residents are eagerly awaiting the completion of this work and I can assure them of a comprehensive Government response to the findings of the commission. In the interim, I have initiated a number of processes to complement the commission's work. The principals of transitional justice inform my approach to these measures. In this regard, I am working with my colleagues in government, and in collaboration with former residents, to advance solutions to the issues that have already emerged from the work of the commission. I believe this is the best way forward in our response to what are hugely complex and sensitive matters. I have established an inclusive and representative collaborative forum so that former residents of these institutions can directly engage on the issues of concern to them and their families. I was happy to meet with the forum at its first meeting in July. I understand that it has made further progress by establishing sub-committees at its second meeting earlier this month. I have requested an initial report within six months and I await the outcomes of their deliberations.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her reply. Fianna Fáil and I welcomed the commission on the mother and baby homes when established. We recognise the vital importance of the commission in delivering justice and accountability for all those affected by mother and baby homes in Ireland. The third interim report of the commission on mother and baby homes requested an extension of the deadline for its report on its finding on the institution being investigated. As rightly said by the Minister, the deadline has been extended to February 2019. I am glad the Minister has met with the commission. She has been very supportive of former residents of the mother and baby homes, and their families, in Tuam but they are incredibly frustrated at this point. This is a very sensitive matter. During the Pope's visit, they held a silent protest in Tuam in recognition of the hurt of the past. They need supports.

The Minister referenced transitional justice and counselling services provision. People who are trying to avail of these counselling services are experiencing difficulty accessing the financial support to enable them to do so. I know that the Minister is aware of this. Former residents of the mother and baby home in Tuam want to know the status of the report, if additional information will be released prior to the publication of the report, if we are on target in respect of the final report, and the Minister's intentions regarding the treatment of the remains found at Tuam.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Counselling services for the survivors and families in respect of the Tuam and other mother and baby homes is a key concern for me. It is an issue that is being examined by one of the sub-committees established by the collaborative forum. I indicated at the end of my initial reply that I expect to receive a report from the representative stakeholders within six months. I have also told them that if they want to come forward with a report sooner than that I will be happy to receive it. I am particularly anxious to hear from the representative stakeholders what would work best in terms of psychological and wellbeing supports and how best to access it. We know what we need to do. What we are working on is how best to do it in order that people can access what they need.

On the question regarding my intentions for the treatment of the remains found at Tuam, we are working hard on a memo to be brought to Government to make decisions in that regard. I hope it will be ready within the coming weeks.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Am I correct that the Deputy's reference to a kick-to-touch exercise relates to the work of the collaborative forum?

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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As previously indicated, the selection of a representative group of people for the collaborative forum was a complex and difficult task and it took some time to complete. We wanted to ensure we have a representative group with the authority to identify what is needed. If the forum wants to come forward next week with recommendations as to what would work best I would welcome that. I do understand the age factor and timeline issue. I have met the people concerned. It is a terrible thing that has happened, especially to women, in terms of the issues that we are speaking about. I do understand the experience of shame, although not in that context. I am committed to moving as quickly as possible. I hope the report of the forum will be forthcoming as quickly as possible, particularly its recommendations in terms of wellbeing and health supports.

In regard to the commission, I anticipate that it will deliver its final report in early February, as indicated. On the Deputy's remarks regarding the age factor, I sought to do other things to complement the work of the commission to ensure we can hear, understand and try to move forward in relation to their concerns.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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On other sites and the possibility of the remains of other children being buried etc., this is a matter for the commission. We are where we are in terms of Tuam because the commission did that investigation, produced its findings and brought them to Government. I have to respect the independence of the commission. As part of its terms of reference it is examining and investigating all mother and baby homes and county homes.

I agree with the Deputy that there are lots of different examples of experiences within institutions, be that the Magdalen laundries, the industrial schools, the orphanages or mother and baby homes, where terrible things have happened. We have a terrible, shameful history. There may be more to be done in response to this than is currently being done. Like Deputy O'Sullivan and others in this House, I am very conscious of that.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I will continue in the same vein as Deputy O'Sullivan in speaking about Tuam because it is my constituency and I hold my clinics there. Owing to the age factor, these people require an awful lot of supports. There are ways in which we can assist them. The counselling service and the wellbeing programme are essential but people are not able to access them or get feedback on the funding because they cannot afford it.

Not all of the small towns around the county offer the opportunity for these people to access these services so they have to avail of taxis. I ask the Minister that she at least place a dedicated person within each of the various CHOs, someone to whom people could be directed to go so that we can streamline matters and facilitate these people with some quick wins. This is what they need because they do not believe that anyone is listening. They do not believe that their voices are being heard. The helicopter view of this is so big that people have to be able to look to themselves. They have to be able to talk about it. They are glad that everybody else is talking about it and recognising their hurt but they feel that they now need the opportunity to tell their own story. This could be through the well-being programme, which I strongly welcomed at the time. We need to fast-track this opportunity and we also need to fast-track housing, as some of these people are not living in the best of conditions. They need the county councils to work with them to fast-track matters, be it through programmes for older people with disabilities or for people who have resided in mother and baby homes or in various other institutions. Perhaps the Minister will work with the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to find a solution to this.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I agree with the Deputy on this matter. As she knows, I have been to the site in Tuam many times. I have spoken to those affected both as a group and individually and I have met them at the site. Through these experiences I have come to a deeper understanding of the hurt and shame suffered as the years are passing, as Deputy Rabbitte so eloquently described. She has clearly also had that kind of conversation and she has ably represented her people in that regard.

In response to the question on fast-tracking or speeding things up, I have at this stage placed this matter in the hands of the collaborative forum. My personal view is that I would like to do this as quickly as possible. As we well know, however, the question is how to do this in the best possible manner so as to get people what they actually need, process the information and have the payments made. All of these practical issues have to be looked at as well, which is the reason I hope those involved in the collaborative forum will come to me. I would love it if they could do so before the six months have passed and make those recommendations. We can then see how we can follow up on this.