Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 November 2018
9. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the timeline for the beginning of excavation works at the site of the former mother and baby home at Tuam; the draft legislation required to advance this project; the offers of financial contributions that have been made by religious orders and institutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45725/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraWill the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs outline the planned timeline for the beginning of the excavation works at the site of the mother and baby home in Tuam? What is the draft legislation required in advance of the project, and were there any offers of financial contributions?
The Government agreed an approach to dealing with the site of the mother and baby home in Tuam, County Galway, at its meeting of 23 October last. I am committed to leading this project. It is my view that a phased approach will mean an informed and targeted approach to the forensic excavation of the available area. In this way the logical sequence of complex technical, legal and forensic decisions will be grounded in real-time information emerging from the site as the work progresses. My proposals are based on offering compassion and dignity for the children who were interred in such an horrific manner on this site.
As outlined in the expert technical group report, the circumstances in Tuam are unprecedented and, because of this, we need new or bespoke legislation to enable the necessary work to proceed. Exhumation is strictly controlled in law. It will take time to prepare and enact the new legislation and we need to get it right. I am putting in place a small cross-departmental team to develop the legislation as a matter of priority. We will have a clearer picture on an overall timeframe once the cross-departmental team has commenced its work.
I started negotiations with the Bon Secours order on a contribution to the costs of taking the proposed measures at the site in Tuam. The order has willingly and constructively engaged with me, and an offer of €2.5 million has been made. To be clear, this is not a settlement offer relinquishing the order from any future liability. It offers no indemnity. I will revert to Government to seek approval of the agreement in the coming weeks.
I understand that this is a very important decision for all connected to the site in Tuam, most especially those who believe they may have a loved one buried there and those now living close to the site. I am committed to ensuring that all the children interred at this site can have a dignified and respectful burial. It is only by taking the right actions now can we truly demonstrate our empathy, compassion and commitment to work towards justice, truth and healing for what happened in our past and, most especially, for those who were abandoned.
I thank the Minister for her response. I know we dealt with much of this before the recess and, again, I commend the Minister and her Department on the work done here. The decision taken is certainly the right one.
The Bon Secours sisters announced that they would contribute to this important work. Have any similar contributions been offered by other religious orders in terms of other sites? Has the Minister officially received a response yet from the Vatican to the letter she wrote in August?
To answer the Deputy's first question, I have not sought nor received any contribution from any other religious orders. To be perfectly clear, the reason we did this in this circumstance is specifically related to the site and the remains of the children there and because knowledge and evidence of that was referred to the Government and it responded. That is why I looked for resources. I have not looked for resources relating to any other things that have gone on in that home or any other home before the commission of investigation reports.
I have not heard anything back yet from the Pope or the Vatican to my communication, but we are making inquiries about that communication through our new ambassador to the Vatican who is being appointed this week.
I thank the Minister for her reply. It is a bit disappointing that she has not got any acknowledgement yet from the Vatican, and I want to put that on the record. I also note the Minister has committed to updating the House on this issue, and that is welcome.
I know the commission's report is due out early next year. Will the Minister tell us if she thinks this process at Tuam is going to be a blueprint for how we deal with similar sites? Will she also tell us if she thinks that this is the beginning of a process that will develop beyond Tuam?
I thank Deputy Mitchell for her question. It is pertinent given the discussion we had in committee yesterday. I understand the Minister attended a conference where the potential impact of this proposed legislation on other sites was widely discussed. Will the Minister offer some clarity to the House? As Chair of the Minister's line committee, the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs, I presume this Bill that the Minister is proposing will come before that committee and, if so, when does she expect to present that Bill to the House?
I was at an extraordinary conference in Boston last week. It brought together many top-class Irish scholars as well as some international scholars. It was a privilege to be there, I learned a lot, and I am taking much of it into account as we move forward. On the legislation itself and whether that has the potential to form the basis for the use of a template or model for other sites, should that be required, I expect that it could and I hope that it will. That is a decision that has to be made once the people gather together to begin to develop the approach. It does, however, seem a reasonable one.
In respect of the committee, perhaps it will be the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs. The issue is that the legislation to be created relates primarily to issues of justice as well as coming within the context of the mother and baby homes. That will again be decided in the context of development of the legislation.
