Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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902. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 195 of 5 May 2022, when the archive of the McAleese commission will be transferred to the National Archives; the steps he is taking to ensure this happens without delay; if the transfer will include an instruction to publish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12553/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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National Archives legislation governs the management of records of Departments of State, including their disposal or retention as archives. Documents in the archive of the McAleese Commission that are currently held by my Department constitute departmental records and, as such, are subject to the requirements of that legislation. Departments are obliged to transfer Departmental records more than 30 years old to National Archives. This obligation will extend to the Mc Aleese archive.

In March 2022 Government approved high-level proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry in Sean McDermott Street, which will stand as a site of conscience, and will be a national memorial to honour all those who were resident in Industrial Schools, Magdalen Laundries, Mother and Baby Institutions, Reformatories and related institutions. The Centre will comprise, inter alia, a museum and exhibition space, the development of which will be led by the National Museum of Ireland; a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century, which will form part of the National Archives; and a place for reflection and remembrance.

In April 2022, a Steering Group, comprising the key State stakeholders involved in the development of the National Centre, was established. The Group is responsible for developing the overall vision of the Centre and providing strategic oversight for the design, development, coordination and implementation of the composite elements.

Work on the creation of the central repository of records to sit within the National Centre is being led by the National Archives under the auspices of the Steering Group. It is envisaged that the repository will include the historical records of residential institutions, including Industrial Schools, Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby and County home institutions and Orphanages.

Work on the creation of the central repository is supported by a dedicated Legal and Legislative Subgroup which is considering whether any additional legislative measures are needed to support the creation and management of the archive.