Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress that has been made in meeting the commitments set out in the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28465/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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On 16 November 2021, my Department published an Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. The Action Plan is a high-level framework to drive, monitor and report on implementation of the 22 wide-ranging measures announced by Government in responding to the needs and concerns of those who spent time in these institutions.  

Each action identifies key strategic milestones and related timelines. Of the 22 actions, 7 have already been completed while another 13 are currently in progress. Work is ongoing in all thematic areas to advance measures in accordance with the published Action Plan. My Department and other state authorities are working to ensure survivors see tangible results as early as possible.

In addition to an annual progress report, which will be laid before the Houses, my Department continues to prepare quarterly progress updates. On 31 May, the second of these updates was issued directly to every person who has provided their contact information to my Department's dedicated mailing list. The update was also published on my Department's website.

Key achievements in implementing Government's Action Plan include:

Firstly, dedicated professional counselling support continues to be available nationwide with services being prioritised for survivors. 

A centre-piece of the Government’s response is the development of a scheme to provide eligible applicants with financial payments and a form of enhanced medical card. The draft Heads of a Mother and Baby Institutions Payment  Scheme  Bill were published on 29 March. They were referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for pre-legislative scrutiny, requesting the Committee's assistance in meeting the urgent need to deliver this Scheme for survivors as soon as possible. In April, the Joint Oireachtas Committee undertook a public consultation process on the draft legislation. Hearings on the Heads of Bill have now commenced and my Department has engaged with the Committee.

In parallel with the legislative process, my Department is working on the administrative arrangements needed to operate the Scheme and deal with applications.   

My Department has also published two substantial pieces of legislation this year.   

The Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 was published on 12 January. The Bill has passed all stages in Dáil Éireann and is scheduled for Committee Stage in Seanad Éireann on Wednesday the 1st June. This legislation will provide a full and clear right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins. 

The Institutional Burials Bill 2022 was published on 22 February. The Bill completed Dáil Second Stage on 3 March and Dáil Committee Stage on 3 May. Report Stage in the Dáil is to be held on 15 June. The children in Tuam deserve an appropriate burial and I am determined to deliver legislation which achieves this dignity for them and their families and provides a clear legal basis should such intervention be necessary at other locations.   

I established a dedicated Information Management Unit, with a professional archivist, to manage the Commission’s archive of records and provide access for individuals to their personal information. So far, we have received 627 Subject Access Requests for information from the archive, and we have issued replies to 559 of these requests, with the remainder in progress. 

On 10 March 2022, the Minister for Health signed the new Data Protection Act 2018 (Access Modifications) (Health) Regulations 2022.  These Regulations remove the mandatory requirement to consult an individual’s health practitioner before releasing their health data to them as part of a response to a Subject Access Request. My Department is now reviewing all Subject Access Request responses where information was previously withheld and working to provide health data to individuals as quickly as possible. 

My colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, established a working group to develop central guidance which will assist local authorities in facilitating local memorialisation in line with the wishes of survivors. Consultation with survivors is integral to the operation of this working group. A consultative process, led by independent facilitators, will start in the coming weeks and survivor advocacy/representative groups have been invited to participate. In addition, the Minister is preparing a circular which will issue to all planning authorities advising them of the precautionary approach they should take to safeguarding possible burial sites in their area from potentially harmful development.

I am aware of the urgency and sensitivity of this work and it is an absolute priority for myself and the Government.