Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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203. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth pursuant to recommendation 17 of the report by the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection (details supplied) the details of any analysis carried out by his Department with regard to establishing a State inquiry into the practice of illegal adoptions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6191/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Recommendation 17 of the report by the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection was that a State inquiry into illegal adoptions (broadly defined) should be established on a non-statutory basis.

The question of creating an effective non-statutory inquiry is a sensitive, complex and challenging one. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges this and, in particular, notes the challenges associated with access to records for a non-statutory inquiry.

In this regard, it is also important to note that some of the actions set out in the Government Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutionsachieve some of the objectives of a Truth Commission as proposed by the Special Rapporteur.

In March 2022, Government approved high-level proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance. The National Centre will stand as a site of conscience and will be designed to be an enduring and educational memorial to honour all those who were resident in Industrial Schools, Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalen Laundries and related institutions. The National Centre will be located on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry in Sean MacDermott Street in Dublin city centre and will have an inclusive, national and global reach.

The Centre will comprise a number of distinct, yet interrelated, areas, including a museum and exhibition space, the development of which will be led by the National Museum of Ireland, as well as a research centre and central repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century, which will form part of the National Archives. It is anticipated that the central repository will sit at the heart of the Centre and will ultimately be underpinned by legislation. One unique aspect of the central repository will be the intended inclusion of the personal testimonies of survivors; allowing the lived experiences of survivors to be formally recognised as part of the official record. Inclusion of the personal testimonies of survivors will ensure that the lived experiences of survivors will be captured in their own words, for publication and archiving for posterity in the National Centre.

The centralised archive of institutional records and personal testimony will, in turn, support further future analysis and research on these important matters.

As a consequence of all of this ongoing work, the Government will need to give further consideration to the specific recommendation on the establishment of a Truth Commission.

Specifically in respect of the Department's analysis of the Special Rapporteur's recommendation - officials are currently considering the recommendation in the context of developing a process for including personal testimonies of survivors in the National Centre for Research and Remembrance in a way that will achieve some of the objectives of a Truth Commission.

In addition to all of the above work, I have also ensured that the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 provides a lawful basis for Tusla or the Adoption Authority to investigate if a person has been the subject of an illegal birth registration by means of reviewing records, undertaking a trace and obtaining other information relevant to an investigation. In October 2022, in accordance with section 33 of that Act, and having satisfied myself that it is necessary and in the public interest to do so, I directed Tusla to undertake a review and trace of the files which, in the course of the earlier Independent Review process, were flagged by Tusla as containing suspicious markers which could be indicative of an illegal birth registration. Where any cases are confirmed through this review, I have asked that the affected individuals are informed of this in an ethical, sensitive and fully supported manner. This is in keeping with Government’s recognition of a person’s right to identity and right to know of their confirmed illegal birth registration.

Finally, I would note that An Garda Síochána is tasked with investigating all criminal offences reported to it and they have confirmed to my Department that they will have no difficulty doing so where any person who considers themselves a victim of illegal birth registration or illegal adoption practice wishes to report any such case.