Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to why we believe we should not remove the word "manifestly" from the Bill and, as such, are not in a position to accept these amendments. This Bill is designed to create a lawful basis for forensic excavation, recovery, analysis and identification of human remains at institutional sites where manifestly inappropriate burials have taken place.When the abhorrent situation at Tuam was first discovered, the Government was advised that a full forensic standard excavation, recovery and identification of human remains could not take place under the legislation that existed at the time and that new legislation was needed. That is what this legislation is. This Bill is intended to fill the legislative gap in order to allow us to respond appropriately to the situation at Tuam. To avoid delays in responding to any similar situations that should arise in the future, the legislation was expanded to allow for excavations and identification programmes at other institutional sites, should similarly manifestly inappropriate burials be discovered.

Removing considerations of evidence regarding "manifestly inappropriate burials" would result in an unclear basis for any intervention. It would make it difficult to determine the circumstances under which this law could be used to intervene at a particular site. Furthermore, the deletion of the term "manifestly" would not correspond to the original Government decision that underpins the drafting of this legislation.

Section 8(1) of the Bill sets out four criteria which can be used to determine whether a burial site contains manifestly inappropriate burials. These are as follows: that the human remains are uncoffined; that they were buried in such a manner that would not have complied with the requirements at the time of such burial set out in the burial grounds’ regulations; that they were buried in a way that would not reasonably be considered to provide a dignified interment; or that they were buried collectively and in a manner or in a location which is repugnant to common decency and would reasonably have been so considered at the time the burials took place.

These criteria are included in the legislation to ensure that there is sufficient consideration given to key factors before any intervention can take place at a burial site. They do not limit the fact that any intervention under the legislation will involve a full forensic standard excavation, recovery and analysis. There must be evidence, in accordance with clear criteria, that the people were buried in a manner that is considered inappropriate.

As Senator Flynn knows, Ireland has a long history of respecting burial sites and of respecting the dignity and the sanctity of burial sites. That is why we are setting this threshold. It has to be a manifestly inappropriate burial before we can intervene in the very significant way that this legislation allows us to intervene.