Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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117. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to include infant mortalities, adoption practices, vaccine trials and medical experimentation, forced labour and incarceration of unmarried girls and women who gave birth to babies or were seen to be at risk of becoming mothers, conditions in the institutions, including neglect, denial of adequate medical care and cruel punishment of unmarried mothers and their infants and children, burials of unmarried mothers and their children and other women who remained in recarceral institutions, from 1922, in the Commission of Investigation into matters relating to Mother and Baby Homes terms of reference. [47377/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Government has undertaken to establish a statutory Commission of Investigation into matters relating to Mother and Baby Homes in accordance with the Motion passed by the Dáil on 11 June. Considerable progress has been achieved since this date, including the publication of the Inter-Departmental Group’s Report, the announcement that Judge Yvonne Murphy will chair the Commission and an inclusive consultation process with stakeholders. The Government has also publicly confirmed that the intended scope of this investigation will go beyond the home operated by the Sisters of Bon Secours in Tuam, Co. Galway and these announcements have been widely welcomed.

As the Deputy will be aware, I am consulting with a number of key stakeholders whom I have met in recent weeks, in order to update the parties on the emerging issues and to seek their further views.

Requests to include a range of institutions, and concerns related to particular practices are being examined in our current deliberations.

A key challenge in deciding on the scope of the investigation is to ensure that a realistic approach is taken so that the Commission is in a position to investigate these matters in a workable and effective manner. As recommended by the Inter-Departmental Report, our approach should have regard to the facts established through recent inquiries into related institutions, and the general experience gained in conducting similar investigations into matters of public importance.