I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 to 253, inclusive, together.
The specific data being sought on mothers who gave evidence to the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters) is not available to my Department.
The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was independent in the performance of its functions and this independence was guaranteed in law. The Commission was given robust powers in accordance with the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 to facilitate the gathering of records and witness testimony. In accordance with its statutory functions, and at the conclusion of its investigation, the Commission submitted a report based on the evidence received by it, setting out the facts it established in relation to the matters referred to it for investigation. The Commission’s interim and final reports have all been published.
Within its final report, the Commission includes a number of chapters with detailed statistical information on the mothers and children who were resident by individual institution. These data sets were developed from the institutional records available to the Commission. The information is reported on a calendar year basis and covers areas such as; the number of admissions; the entry pathways; age on admission; occupation; previous pregnancy; marital status; length of stay; exit pathways; maternal deaths and child deaths. In the case of Miss Carr's, the information established by the Commission is reflected the body of Chapter 25 rather than in a separate chapter.
The Commission's final report states that 195 hearings were held by the Commission, with 64 former residents coming before the Commission to give evidence. An additional 304 who were resident as mothers, and 228 who were resident as babies/children, provided testimony to the Confidential Committee. The Commission noted that these mothers came from 12 different institutions and the children also came from 12 different institutions, but not the same 12 as the mothers.
In recognising the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of so many, including those who appeared before the Commission and the Confidential Committee, the Commission produced a report of a general nature, as it was tasked to do. Data was therefore compiled in a way that preserved the anonymity of those to which the data relates. For this reason, the data provided by the Commission does not facilitate a correlation between the data presented on former residents and those who provided testimony or other evidence to the Commission.
My Department is the data controller for all the personal data contained in the archive and associated records and databases since 28th February 2021, when the Commission was dissolved in law. GDPR provides the legal framework for individuals to make a request to my Department seeking access to their personal information in this archive and associated databases. My Department considers and responds to each data subject in accordance with its GDPR obligations. The Department does not have a legal basis to access the archive or otherwise process this data for any other purpose.
