The Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation will stand dissolved in law on 28th February 2021 and is due to submit its archive of records to my Department by that date. Former residents of Mother and Baby Homes will be able to make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Department under the GDPR for access to their record.
My Department is working intensively to ensure that it is properly resourced to handle subject access requests from people who were resident in mother and baby homes when the Commission's database and records are transferred. In this regard, my Department has established a new Unit to look after this hugely important and significant volume of work.
Everyone has the right to make a request to access their own personal data and can make a subject access request to my Department in respect of their own personal information. In the context each individual access request, consideration must be given to the overarching principle that the release of personal data to a requestor must not prejudice the rights and freedoms of others. It is important to acknowledge that subject access requests may not necessarily provide all of the information that the requester believes is on the record. My Department is engaging with the Data Protection Commission and it intends to publish its policies and procedures as soon as possible.
