Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2021
951. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if all correspondence between him and or his Department and the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31119/21]
View answerThe Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters was established on 17 February 2015 and dissolved in law on 28 February 2021. Throughout its 6 years of operation there was extensive correspondence between my Department and the independent Commission. This correspondence involves exchanges between myself, previous Ministers and multiple officials within my Department and the Commission, its legal and administrative staff.
The scope of the Deputy’s request includes correspondence in relation to diverse matters, including, but not limited to: the setup of the Commission; human resources and administrative arrangements; expenditure and financial governance; guidelines on legal and witness costs; the discovery of records; the submission of and responses to matters arising in interim and final reports, and transfer of the Commission's archive.
Due to the number of parties to this correspondence, these records are not compiled under the responsibility of one centralised area of my Department. Coupled with the additional complexities of remote working, the collation of all correspondence between my Department and the Commission of Investigation would therefore be a substantial undertaking.
Taking account of the volume of correspondence involved, it is not be possible for my Department to provide the information requested within the timescale available. However, I am eager to assist the Deputy in her query to the greatest extent possible.
If the Deputy could consider her request in light of the points made above, and narrow the scope of the nature of the correspondence she is seeking, my officials will endeavour to assist her as much as possible. My officials would also be happy to speak directly to the Deputy if that would assist in focusing the scope of the correspondence sought.
I would note, of course, that the timescale for responding in full to the request will depend on the volume of correspondence that may be sought.
