Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome today's announcement that there will be an extensive exhumation of bodies at the Tuam mother and babies home. The remains will be forensically examined and, most importantly, there will then be a respectful burial. This issue has been widely debated and discussed. I understand the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, presented the proposal to Cabinet this morning. It is the right decision and the Minister deserves our full support.

I raised previously the need to establish a central database for unidentified human remains.Today, it was announced a body discovered over 17 years ago, washed up on Quay Island in Clare, was identified as being that of a person reported missing a number of months previously. He was reported missing in February 2001 and I may be wrong on the dates but the body was discovered a number of months later. There was no identification until recently. The family had to wait for 17 years for a decision on this matter. I have given a detailed proposal to the Minister for Justice and Equality for a central database in the country about unidentified remains so that there would be a co-ordinated effort with regard to information about missing persons and human remains. This has not been done. Each coroner's area keeps the information and there is no connection between one coroner's area and another. We need to do that. I ask that the Leader again raise this matter with the Minister for Justice and Equality. I had a Commencement matter dealt with here but I do not believe we should delay in bringing forward this proposal.