15 Apr 2015, 16:58
The Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection met today to engage with Officials from the Department of Education and Skills, as part of its Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Retention of Records Bill 2015.
15th April 2015
The Bill aims to preserve the records of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Review Committee. Specifically, the intention is that these records will be deposited with the National Archives where they will be preserved and sealed for a period of 75 years. At the end of this period, the records will be available for public inspection subject to conditions which will be determined by the Director of the National Archives.
Chairperson of the Committee, Joanna Tuffy, TD, says: “Today’s meeting provided a valuable opportunity for Committee Members to consider carefully the provisions of this important draft Bill. One issue raised repeatedly was the survivors’ right to privacy and the possible implications for them and their families after the 75 year period ends. Members were united in their belief that, as a State, we must do all we can to ensure that such abuse never happens again, but concerns were raised as to what would be the most appropriate way of preserving these records and for providing access to them.”
“In terms of scale, the Committee was informed that the records in question amount to somewhere between 15,000 to 20,000 testimonies. There was thoughtful discussion as to if and when the records should be released and a range of views expressed as to what would be an appropriate period of time to open the records, taking into account the survivors’ right to privacy and also the importance of these records to the State and to the public interest.”
“The Committee respects the fact these records are of a highly sensitive nature and we believe that the privacy and dignity of the survivors must be upheld. We welcome the chance to reflect on this piece of draft legislation and we look forward to examining the draft legislation further at a later date.”
Ends
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Committee Membership:
Chair: Joanna Tuffy (Labour)
Deputies:
James Bannon (Fine Gael); Ray Butler (Fine Gael); Catherine Byrne (Fine Gael); Ciaran Cannon Fine Gael; Joan Collins (People Before Profit); Michael Conaghan (Labour); Clare Daly (Independent); Jim Daly (Fine Gael); Noel Harrington (Fine Gael); Charlie McConalogue (Fianna Fáil); Jonathan O Brien (Sinn Fein); Willie O'Dea (Fianna Fáil); Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Sinn Féin); Brendan Ryan (Labour); Joanna Tuffy (Labour)
Senators:
Jim D’Arcy (Fine Gael); Gerard P Craughwell (Independent); Marie Moloney (Labour); Mary Moran (Labour); Averil Power (Fianna Fáil); Mary-Louise O'Donnell (Independent)