Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 September 2022
400. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the dates on which he has met with the Collaborative Forum of Former Residents of Mother and Baby Homes and Related Institutions in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022. [45524/22]
View answer401. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he will publish the report of the Collaborative Forum of Former Residents of Mother and Baby Homes and Related Institutions, submitted in December 2018. [45525/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 400 and 401 together.
I am committed to ongoing engagement with former residents of Mother and Baby Institutions and their advocates. I have directly engaged with survivors and advocacy groups since my appointment and will continue to engage with those most centrally involved with these matters.
As I have acknowledged previously, plenary meetings of Collaborative Forum were unfortunately interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Having met in December 2019, it was necessary to put these meetings on hold in 2020 in the context of the public health restrictions as a number of members travel from outside the jurisdiction and some members are also in the at-risk groups identified by public health authorities.
Throughout 2020, members of the Forum were updated on relevant matters by the Forum Secretariat based in my Department. In 2021, there was engagement with the Forum via my Department in relation to an invitation to appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability and Integration in relation to the pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the then Institutional Burials Bill. I was pleased to see the Committee directly engage with members of the Collaborative Forum on this historic legislation.
I held two virtual meetings with members of the Collaborative Forum in February 2021 to share developments in the State’s response to the Commission’s report and to engage on matters of concern to members. A proposed new structure to support wider stakeholder engagement was a specific agenda item. Further discussions on this issue were independently facilitated with Forum members during 2021, and feedback resulting from this process has assisted in refining proposals which I hope to bring to Government shortly.
I also met with the Collaborative Forum on the 22nd of March this year to update members on the progress being made in advancing key initiatives in the published Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. We discussed specific matters of concern to the Forum, including the significant legislative programme being progressed as part of the Action Plan and arrangements for publication of the Forum’s report.
Publication of the Forum’s report had to initially await the publication of the Commission’s report. For this reason, the Forum's recommendations were initially published and a commitment was given to revisit the question of publication following the completion of the Commission's work. Thereafter, acting on legal advice, the Department commenced a right of reply process to ensure relevant parties named in the report were afforded due process prior to publication. I can confirm that this necessary process has been concluded, thereby enabling my Department to seek further advices from the Attorney General’s Office with a view to publication.
I will contact the Collaborative Forum directly in advance of any arrangements being made for publication of the submitted report.
