On 28 February 2021, with the dissolution of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, my Department became the data controller for all the personal data contained in the records and databases that transferred from the Commission.
My Department is responsible for fulfilling data subject rights, including the right of access to personal data. I am very mindful of the importance to people who were born in Mother and Baby Homes of access to their personal data.
My Department is committed to meeting its obligations as a data controller when dealing with Subject Access Requests (SARs) and is responding on a case by case basis to individuals in accordance with the requirements of GDPR.
As of Friday, the 28th of January 2022, my Department received 492 SARs relating to the Mother and Baby Homes archive and responded to 431 of these.
The Mother and Baby Home database of residents of the Institutions compiled by the Commission was searched in respect of SARs that were validated which included verification of the identity of the requestor.
While the archive is largely a digital one, some physical records also transferred to the Department on the dissolution of the Commission. Individuals were previously advised that where physical records relating to them were retrieved following searches of the records, they would be provided with copies of the records. The physical records continue to be catalogued by the Department’s archivist. Searches of the physical records are being conducted as may be appropriate in the circumstances of each request. Records retrieved are provided to individuals as previously advised to them in correspondence relating to their SAR.
