Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Significant progress has been made in implementing Government's Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions across all 8 thematic areas but I would like to highlight in particular the following achievements:

Access to information

In June 2022, the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 was enacted to 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, spent time as a child in a Mother and Baby or County Home Institution or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins. Statutory information and tracing services under the new legislation have been open since October 2022. Since services opened, over 10,000 applications for information have been completed.

Intervention at Tuam

In May 2023, I appointed Mr Daniel Mac Sweeney as Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam to head up the independent Office that is charged with overseeing and managing the excavation, recovery, analysis and identification (if possible) of the children’s remains located at the Tuam site.

The Director’s initial priority has been to engage with relatives, survivors and former residents in relation to the intervention. He is also overseeing significant planning and preparation work for the excavation phase of the intervention, including arranging engineering works and securing laboratory premises and equipment, while also working on establishing core administrative and staff structures for the Office.

The Tuam Advisory Board, which I established last year to provide advice and guidance to the Director, has met twice in 2024 to date.

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme

In July 2023, legislation to underpin the establishment of a Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme was signed into law. This Payment Scheme, when established, will provide financial payments and health supports to eligible applicants. It will be the largest Scheme of its type in the history of the State. Work to establish the Scheme has taken place over many months. This work includes preparing necessary regulations, establishing online information systems, rolling out trauma-informed training for staff and ensuring that all necessary communication and information for applicants is in place. This Scheme will be available to survivors living both inside and outside of Ireland and an extensive national and international information campaign will be undertaken. The Scheme is expected to open to applications on 20 March next.

National Centre for Research and Remembrance

In March 2022, the Irish Government approved proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance. This Centre will stand as a national memorial and site of conscience to honour the lived experiences and dignity of all those who spent time in Ireland’s 20th century institutions, as well as the comparable experiences of those who were boarded out. In July 2023, Government approved the master plan for the National Centre campus. The master plan sets out a high-level floor plan of the campus, which includes:

• A museum and archive space
• A garden for reflection and remembrance.
• Purpose-built facilities for further and higher education and community-based family and parenting support facilities.
• 25 units of universal design social housing

An initial open consultation on the National Centre plan ran from July until September 2023. The responses to this consultation are now being analysed, and this analysis will directly inform the ongoing work on the development of the National Centre. There will be further consultations on specific elements of the Centre, as the project progresses.

Special Advocate for Survivors

In November 2022, Government approved plans to appoint a Special Advocate for Survivors. The role of the Special Advocate will be to amplify the voices of survivors to ensure that their views are central to the delivery of the State’s response. An open and transparent campaign to recruit the Special Advocate commenced in March 2023 via the Irish Public Appointments Service. That process has now concluded and I am pleased to confirm that Ms Patricia Carey has been appointed to the role.

Counselling support

Counselling support continues to be available free of charge through the National Counselling Service to those survivors who wish to avail of it.

In addition to these significant legislative, administrative and policy developments, the Irish State is also progressing a number of research and education initiatives in recognition of the importance of acknowledging, understanding and learning from our past.

The Government believes all relevant parties have a collective responsibility to respond to the legacy of these institutions. On 23 May 2023, Government approved my proposal to appoint Ms Sheila Nunan to act on my behalf in leading negotiations with relevant religious bodies with a view to securing a financial contribution towards the cost of the Payment Scheme. The negotiation process, while ongoing, is confidential. A full report will be provided to Government once the negotiations are concluded.