Jack Wall
Ceist:158. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide a definition regarding a submission (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1897/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 15 January 2015
Ceisteanna (158)
Freagraí scríofa
In responding to the details supplied by the Deputy, it is important to clarify that the central focus of the Commission is on mothers and children accommodated in the specified Mother and Baby Homes for the purposes of extended ante- and post-natal maternity and infant care services. While due regard has been given to the emphasis on “Mother and Baby Homes” in the motion approved by Dáil Eireann, the terms of reference also reflect a much wider agenda of directly related matters than was evident at the initiation of this process. The investigation will thoroughly examine the experiences of the many mothers and children who were resident in Mother and Baby Homes.
In accordance with Article 1(VI) of the Terms of Reference, the Commission is directed to investigate the entry of children into the institutions listed in Appendix 1 of the Order in circumstances when their mother was not also resident at the time of their entry. Clear criteria have been used to define and identify Mother & Baby Homes for the purposes of this investigation. These include having the main function of providing sheltered and supervised ante- and post-natal facilities to single mothers and their children, including both board and lodgings; and an ethos which those running the institutions considered to promote a regime of work, training or education as part of an overall approach to either rehabilitating single mothers, or to give them training for living independently.
On the basis of the available information it would not be appropriate to consider the types institutions raised by the Deputy as Mother and Baby Homes, as they did not provide this specific range of services. However, the Terms of Reference ask the Commission to examine the extent to which institutions which had a clear relationship with Mother and Baby Homes were part of the entry or exit pathways for single mothers and children into or leaving these Homes. It is certainly open to the Commission to give consideration to the types of institutions raised by the Deputy in this context. The issues to be examined by the social history module also explicitly cite laundries in this regard.
The Confidential Committee is intended to facilitate individuals who may wish to describe their experiences of living or working in the relevant homes with the Commission to assist in its investigations.