Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress made towards the establishment of a national memorial and records centre under point 7 of An Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59448/21]

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for giving me the opportunity to ask him about the progress made in establishing a national memorial and records centre under point 7 of An Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. I note it is an area the Minister is working on and is very committed to.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I know of the Deputy’s interest in the issue of memorialisation and the work she has done locally in Carlow on this. The establishment of a national memorial and records centre is a core commitment within the plan and provides a basis for several other interdependent projects. The national centre will stand as a national memorial in honour of those who were resident in mother and baby homes, county institutions, industrial schools, Magdalene laundries and other related institutions. It will make a significant contribution to our journey of recognising and learning from the failures of the past, acknowledging the hurt which continues to be felt by survivors and seeking to rebuild a relationship of trust with those who have been so gravely wronged.

With the intention of advancing this project as a priority, the Secretary General to the Government has been appointed to lead a cross-Government process to advance work on a national memorial and records centre. This process, which will include engagement with survivors, will develop an overarching vision and proposed approach for the creation of the national centre. Once this initial work is complete, a proposal will be brought to the Government for approval. I have secured funding of €1 million per annum for 2022 and 2023 to support the immediate preparatory work and research needed to deliver this centre.

The national centre will include an archive of records relating to institutional trauma, alongside personal accounts of survivors' lived experiences, as well as presenting the historical and social context. More generally, my Department has already appointed an archivist and established a dedicated information management unit to lead on the preservation and access to our records, including the commission's archive. In addition to the national centre, work is being advanced in conjunction with the local authorities to deliver on the commitment to support local memorialisation across the country. Furthermore, financial support is available from my Department through the commemorative grant scheme to support survivor groups in commemorating their experiences in a manner which fits their own specific needs.

As we have learned from our consultations with survivors, memorialisation is very important to many of them, but it means many different things to different people. In recognition of this, consistent consultation will be facilitated to ensure the process is informed by those most centrally involved with the experiences.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I am delighted to hear that. It is important that the survivors play an important role in this. We have all learned from our meetings with survivors the importance of access to records and that there are no barriers. That is our commitment from this Government, that we will make sure no survivor who wants to access his or her records encounters barrier after barrier.

I am delighted that the Secretary General of the Government will chair this. That is very important. Like other Deputies, I have been working with survivors in my area. One learns from that. We will all remember listening to the stories of survivors about their journey. This national memorial will play a significant part in helping them on that journey. That is all we can do, as the Minister said. We can only help them as best we can and make sure we are there to give them that support.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy. I agree with her. The national records and memorial centre will be really important. It will be important for survivors as it will be a physical manifestation of a recognition of what happened to them and, as the Deputy stated, it will provide a place for their stories and personal accounts to be told. It is important for society as well in terms of educating people about what happened in these institutions. It is also important from a historical perspective in terms of ensuring there is a single place where these records are accessible to historians and maybe individuals researching information about their families. It is important that these records are made available in a very accessible format online as well, recognising that the survivor community is an international one. It is all over the world and it should be easy for its members, wherever they are living now, to access these really important records.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I totally agree with the Minister. Access, whether online or through one's local authority or the HSE or whatever, is important. The message we have to send to survivors is that we are here to help them access their records if needed.

Does the Minister have a timescale for this? I welcome the funding allocated but timing is very important here in the context of all the work the Minister and the Government have been doing. I know we on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth have been working really hard with the survivors. We need to get this up and running as soon as possible. Letting survivors know is important. Communication is key and I know it is a priority for the Minister. It is about letting everyone know what is happening. The survivors should be kept updated, whether through some sort of helpline or communications through the various Departments. I always believe communication is key and that is the best way forward.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I agree with the Deputy on that point of communication. My Department is endeavouring to ensure we communicate effectively on this issue. We send out a quarterly bulletin to approximately 500 survivors who are on a mailing list. We engage with them by way of the quarterly update, but also letting them know when major announcements are being made, such as in respect of the recently announced institutional payments and updates on other legislative provisions. That communication is there. If there are survivors in the Deputy's constituency who wish to be added to that list, she should let me know and we can do that.

We want to advance the national records and memorial centre quickly. The Secretary General for the Government is probably in the best place to bring together the various Departments and agencies to undertake that work. I know he is bringing together this group to undertake that initial scoping work, as well as getting that element of survivor consultation done. It is a balance between moving quickly and ensuring there is adequate consultation. I think we will strike that balance and move this really important project quickly.