Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank all my colleagues for their contributions today.

As the Minister, Deputy Foley, set out earlier, the investigation of burial arrangements in mother and baby institutions, including Bessborough, was an important part of the work of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, an independent, statutory body that was established in 2015. One of the key reasons for its establishment was to examine the burial practices and arrangements in various institutions. The commission was given the necessary powers to conduct a thorough investigation of the matters covered by its terms of reference, including the power of compellability and the power to inspect private premises. The initial contribution set out the extensive investigations undertaken by the commission in an effort to locate the burials of the children who died while resident in Bessborough. The commission’s investigation into burial practices extended to many other institutions beyond Bessborough. This included the former institutions at Castlepollard and Sean Ross. These two institutions were run by the same order that ran the institution at Bessborough. However, unlike Bessborough, there were designated child burial grounds in Castlepollard and Sean Ross. The commission found that there was no legal requirement to keep a register of burials in such private burial grounds and that no such register seems to exist. The commission’s investigations at Castlepollard included a review of an archaeological assessment of the Castlepollard burial ground that was carried out in 2017 on behalf of the HSE, which currently owns the site. The assessment concluded that there was sufficient space in the burial ground for the number of children who died there.

The commission also investigated burial arrangements at Sean Ross. It used its investigative powers and issued a warrant so that a forensic investigation of the burial ground could be undertaken. It did this in response to information it had received that the graveyard, when still in use, had drainage works inserted through it and that, based on this assertion, there may be no remains at the site and it may never have been used as a graveyard. Site surveys, reviews of planning files and an independent drain inspection were followed by a forensic-standard test excavation, with multiple trenches opened in areas across the site where anomalies were identified by the surveys. The investigation found that coffined infant burials were located across the designated burial ground and that these had not been impacted by drainage works. The commission concluded that no further investigation was warranted. The report of the investigation was published in full in the commission’s final report, with the survey and drain inspection reports included as appendices. Following publication of the commission’s report, the former Minister for children engaged with a local group in Sean Ross and provided funding for them to conduct a survey of land beside the institution’s burial ground; land that was not investigated by the commission. That survey showed no clear evidence of burials.

We are outlining all of this information today so that Deputies are aware of the extent of the work undertaken by the commission into burial practices at mother and baby institutions across the country. I can understand how traumatic and frustrating the continued uncertainty regarding the burial place of children who died at Bessborough must be for the families of those children. Indeed, it is troubling for the whole of Irish society and highlights, in a particularly emotive way, the disregard with which women and children were treated in this country throughout most the last century. I believe it is crucial that there is respectful memorialisation at the Bessborough site so that we never forget what happened there. I expect that Cork City Council is giving due consideration to this matter and I would urge that survivors and family members are centrally involved in any process around this. If a location of burials at the Bessborough site is uncovered in the future, the Government already has the necessary legislation in place to deal with such findings through the provisions of the Institutional Burials Act 2022. This provides for forensic standard excavation of those remains or for appropriate memorialisation in line with the wishes of survivors and family members.

Earlier, the Minister, Deputy Foley, mentioned a number of actions in the Government’s action plan to respond to the priority needs and concerns of survivors, former residents and their families. These include actions relating to national and local memorialisation, protection of burial grounds, the implementation of the Institutional Burials Act and the appointment of a director to oversee the excavation, recovery, analysis, identification and reburial of the children’s remains at the Tuam site. Other actions in the plan where there has been significant progress include the introduction of the Birth Information and Tracing Act, the appointment of a special advocate for survivors and the opening of the mother and baby institutions payments scheme. Access to records, in particular, is consistently highlighted as an important issue in ongoing engagements with survivors and affected people.

A person’s right to their identity is an important human right and every person should have full access to all of his or her information, where available. In this regard, the landmark Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 introduced a full and clear right of access to birth certificates and birth and early life information for all persons who have questions in relation to their origins. More than 17,500 applications for information have completed since services opened in October 2022. The new law also contained provisions in respect of access by a next of kin to records of a child who died in an institution. In addition, it established a statutory tracing service, a contact preference register, new powers to ensure the safeguarding of relevant records and a range of new bespoke measures to address issues arising for people affected by illegal birth registrations. The Department has also published information indicating what personal data it holds and how to request access to it via a subject access request. A dedicated phone line provides information for callers on the subject access request process, and information on this is also regularly communicated to survivors and former residents via quarterly updates on the action plan.

Further legislation to provide for the preservation of privately held records related to Ireland’s institutional past came into force in 2024. This was introduced in response to calls from survivors and affected persons, their families and advocates, who want to ensure that records, which support understanding of their identity and the institutional systems which shaped their life experiences in such significant ways, are preserved. While the legislation does not provide for access to privately held records, by mandating preservation, it ensures that future access to the records is not rendered impossible.

I hope this shows the Government's clear commitment to implementing actions that respond to the priority needs of survivors and the legacy of Ireland’s institutional past.