Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We cannot get back papers that talked about what it was like to be an unmarried mother or somebody dealing with separation in a society in which he or she was invisible.All the difficult systems people had to go through in those situations will be missing. Another issue is the industrial school records about which our colleague, Senator Boyhan, who is not present, has spoken passionately. It is necessary. I urge the Minister to do everything she can to ensure something is done to capture those records.

With regard to data protection, there are very clear exemptions. We are allowed to do this. There is no privacy block in this regard because archival material for collections purposes is a clear area for exemption on the basis of public interest. It is set out in the legislation.