Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 December 2021
123. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the legislation required to support excavation of the site of the former Mother and Baby home in Tuam will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59525/21]
View answerThe General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill was developed to provide the required legal basis for intervention at the Tuam site and at other locations should similar circumstances come to light. The Bill, which covers a range of complex issues, was published in December 2019. I referred the Bill to the Oireachtas for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny in January. The Committee published its report on the legislation in July.
The report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee makes a number of recommendations in relation to the Bill. In light of these recommendations, and the engagements I have had with families in Tuam, the Department is reviewing the legislation to take account of issues raised by the Committee, survivors, and family members.
I am acutely conscious of the urgent need to pass legislation in order to allow exhumation at the site in Tuam. I hope to publish the Bill by the end of the current parliamentary session and bring it through the Houses of Oireachtas as quickly as possible to allow excavation of the site in 2022.
