Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 lays out the obligations of both public bodies and private individuals in terms of retaining and maintaining relevant records as defined under the Act. Relevant records are defined as relating to a relevant person, and contain birth information, early life information, care information or medical information relating to him or her, or a photograph or other image of his or her mother, father or other genetic relative. Relevant persons are those who were adopted, nursed out, boarded out, subject to an illegal birth registration, or resided in a mother and baby or county home institution as a child. Where private nursing homes recorded such information, the files would be considered as relevant records under the Act.

The transfer of records from private individuals in specific circumstances is provided for in Part 7 of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, which confers this power on the Adoption Authority of Ireland. It mandates that any person or body in possession of relevant records under the Act must retain and maintain them, and inform the Authority of their nature. Where it is in the public interest to do so, the Authority may direct the transfer of those records into its care. This will ensure that relevant records which may be held by other institutions can be accessed to release information.

Relevant records are being identified and transferred into the care of the Authority on an ongoing basis. To date, the Authority has issued three directions under Section 48 of the Act for the transfer of relevant records from persons, other than an Information Source. The Adoption Authority aims to develop a medium term strategy for the continued acquisition, retention and safeguarding of records.

Prior to the Act's commencement in 2022, the transfer of records from private nursing homes was conducted on a voluntary basis. Tusla took possession of a number of records from private nursing homes by deed of transfer prior to the commencement of the Act. In keeping with Section 44 and as a primary information source, Tusla retains and maintains records in accordance with the Act, and this information is available to relevant persons making an application under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022.

This process of safeguarding relevant records is active and ongoing, and as new information regarding the whereabouts of relevant records comes to light, this information is actively shared between Tusla and the Authority.

Furthermore, in March 2022, Government approved high-level proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance, to be located on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin 1. The National Centre will stand as part of our national institutions and one of the key elements will be a repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century, which will form part of the National Archives.

A Steering Group is driving the work on the development of the National Centre. Work on the creation of the central repository of records within the National Centre is being led by the National Archives under the auspices of this 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. The issue of privately-held records, which are not subject to the terms of the National Archives Act or the Birth Information and Tracing Act, is one of a number of issues being considered by a dedicated legal and legislative subgroup, that has been established under the auspices of the Steering Group, to support this work.