My Department maintains records on the former residents of 59 industrial and reformatory schools who were placed there by way of a court hearing. Many children were placed in the schools by alternative means, for example health authority referral or voluntary placement, and in such instances my Department generally does not hold information. The primary reason for the absence of information in the case of health authority and voluntary placements is that my Department paid a per capita grant to the schools in respect of all residents who were placed there by the courts. When school authorities were communicating with my Department, they only did so in respect of those residents for whom capitation grant was received.
In a limited number of cases, the name of a resident who was placed voluntarily in the school may appear on an archive list of residents provided by the school. In most cases the name appears with no other identifying information so it is impossible to verify with any degree of certainty that the name refers to an individual resident. My Department has consulted the redress board in relation to providing evidence of residency to former residents. To assist applicants who have made a claim to the board and to avoid creating delays for the board, officials in my Department are currently issuing a customised report to more than 2,000 residents who have applied to my Department under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act for access to their personal records. The redress board has confirmed that this document should normally suffice as evidence of residency.
My Department receives a large number of requests under the Freedom of Information Act from former residents who were placed in the schools other than through the courts. In all such cases, the former resident is provided with available information to allow him to pursue his request with other authorities, such as religious orders and health boards. The Residential Institutions Redress Board is an entirely independent statutory body. It is a matter for the board to determine its requirements as to what is acceptable as evidence of residency in an institution. Notwithstanding this, my Department will provide any assistance possible to the redress board and former residents in this matter.