Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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626. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason for the delay in introducing legislation to allow for the forensic excavation and recovery of the remains at the site of the former Tuam mother and baby home; the timeline for its introduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52616/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The General Scheme of the "Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill" is highly technical because of the issues involved, particularly in relation to identification of the deceased children. While I and my officials have endeavoured to advance this as quickly as possible, it takes time to work through the privacy and data protection implications in particular, and I am very grateful for the patience of the family members and other key stakeholders regarding the time it has taken to develop the legislative proposals.

I hope that we can move swiftly through the pre-legislative scrutiny and drafting processes with a view to bringing the Bill before the Oireachtas during the summer session, with enactment in the autumn session.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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627. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the timeline envisaged for the commencement of forensic excavation works at the Tuam mother and baby home; the estimated cost of the works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52617/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Once the Bill based on the General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill has been enacted, it will be possible to establish the Agency to manage the intervention at the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam and the appropriate expertise can then be procured to carry out the necessary work. I hope that we can move swiftly through the pre-legislative scrutiny and drafting processes with a view to bringing the Bill before the Oireachtas during the summer session, with enactment in the autumn session.

At that point, it should be possible to establish the Agency reasonably promptly. Site works, when commenced, are expected to take a number of months, depending on site conditions.

The costs, as has been said previously, are expected to be in the range of €6 million-€13 million. Given that the project will be responsive to the demands of the site, there is potential for significant variability in the ultimate costs.  

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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628. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the voluntary collection of DNA data of those believed to have familial links to those buried at the Tuam mother and baby home has commenced as recommended by a report (details supplied); if a location for the storage of such DNA has been chosen; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52618/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My Department, in consultation with other relevant Departments and Agencies, is developing detailed proposals for the operation of the voluntary administrative scheme for the collection of biological samples to which the Deputy refers. I hope to bring these proposals to Government early in the Spring session. In tandem, my Department has been developing the legislative proposals that were approved by Government on 10th December 2019, and which will themselves help define the scope of an administrative scheme. The administrative scheme will be subsumed into that legislation once it has been passed.

DNA profiles will not be generated from biological samples collected as part of any administrative scheme, until such time as the legislation is commenced and it is established whether viable DNA profiles for the purpose of comparison can be generated from the remains at the site. In terms of storage of the biological samples that may be taken under scheme, I fully recognise the need to ensure the protection of such sensitive data and it is the provisional intention that Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), as the national authority in this area, will take on this role.