Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to put on record our support for a full indexing of the material. It is obvious from the amendment that a body such as Tusla or the Department itself would not be suitable to carry out this task. We need bodies with a proven record in archival upkeep, along with the associated facilities to ensure that the records can be accessed in the future. Many institutions have already handled a wide variety of sensitive material.

Professionally-run archives have been suggested as suitable repositories. Have the Minister's officials ever approached the National Archives or the National Library of Ireland with a view to maintaining the records? Last month, in a reply to a parliamentary question, the Minister referred to the legislation as it was being prepared by stating, "I sought Government approval for the urgent drafting of legislation to provide a bespoke solution to this issue". I do not consider this haphazard or rushed arrangement to be bespoke, whereas the amendment offers time and scope to consider options other than what is proposed in the Bill as initiated.