James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 628 and 631 together.

The information at issue was examined by the Health Service Executive (HSE) as part of its response to the Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries.This process, which was independently chaired by Martin McAleese, was conducted under the auspices of the Department of Justice and Equality.

In the course of this work the HSE provided a draft report to the Committee secretariat and to the Department of Health and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. This draft report included a separate appendix by a HSE staff member in Cork providing information based on records from the former Bessborough mother and baby home. The author of this draft report acknowledged that its conclusions remained a matter of conjecture until such time as a more forensic examination of the home’s records could be undertaken by the HSE.

As these matters were outside the direct remit of the McAleese Committee, the HSE subsequently advised that these wider concerns would be examined separately by the HSE. At that time my Department advised the HSE that any validated findings of concern from this separate process should be appropriately communicated by the HSE through a separate process. This Department is not aware of any subsequent reports supplied by the HSE in this regard.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs became actively involved in responding to the concerns relating to Mother and Baby Homes following the publication of information on the former Bon Secours Home in Tuam around mid-2014. The Inter Departmental Review Group was set up by my predecessor to assist Government in its deliberations on the terms of reference of a Commission of Investigation and to map the important dimensions of the issues in the short time available. The more extensive process of assembling and investigating all relevant records now forms a very significant part of the Commission’s work. The Group's Report cites a range of academic research and published social histories which explore matters related to Mother and Baby Homes and demonstrates that concerns in relation to the role and purpose of these institutions have been the subject of attention, report and debate since their establishment in the early years of the State.

This work culminated in the establishment of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters in February 2015. Using its extensive legal powers, this Commission is now examining matters within its comprehensive terms of reference to ensure that what happened to vulnerable women and children in Mother and Baby Homes is fully examined. Its findings will be published.

I am satisfied that the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004, together with the terms of reference set out in S.I. No. 57 of 2015, provides this Commission with all necessary powers to comprehensively examine the broad range of public concerns that have been expressed in relation to mother and baby homes.