Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand exactly where Senator Ruane is coming from regarding the amendment. Again, we have to manage people's expectations in a responsible manner. We know that for many years there has simply been no information. That is not to say there was not information originally. Much of the information has been destroyed. Many of the people involved in these illegal acts are in the wrong or the people responsible for them, their sponsors and supporters have run away from the things that were done. The easiest thing was to light a match and do away with it.

There is a lot of denial going on within families and in the institutions of the State, and that needs to be recognised. There are people who deliberately withheld information over many years, but when they were persistently pressed, they handed it over. I know of two people who arrived at a particular institution two years ago and refused to leave, having been told there was no information, and then secured information. The establishment concerned lied through its teeth to them.

It would be foolish of us to think people were co-operating at all times. People deliberately set out to withhold information. It is not a question of there being information versus no information. Information was withheld and deliberately destroyed. That is a terrible thing to do to any individual at any point in his or her life.

I fully understand where the amendment is coming from. In his response, the Minister might touch on the creation of a centralised State repository of records. In time, where people co-operate, this should all come forward. A lot of things we are anticipating will not actually happen. I do not say that as a brushstroke remark. Eventually, those who want to co-operate and be supportive will let the information come forward, subject to the legal checks and balances that are required and the obligations on people. A centralised State repository of records is something the Minister has mentioned. There might be no one to give information to in terms of individuals, but a central repository may be a place that could hold much of this information and assist people in the future. Second and third generations of people may wish to seek this information.