I propose to take Questions Nos. 1253, 1254, 1264 and 1280 together.
The Commission of Investigation’s Final Report describes in stark detail the egregious lack of respect for the dignity and rights of mothers and children who spent time in Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. While the Commission’s work added to our knowledge, it is by no means the end point in our engagement with the sad and complex legacy of Mother and Baby Institutions.
In responding to this terrible legacy, the Government agreed an ‘Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions’. Its 22 actions are designed to address the needs and concerns of former residents and their families, including the disappointment felt by some survivors in relation to the treatment of the personal accounts they provided to the Confidential Committee of the Commission of Investigation. I fully acknowledge the deep hurt which this has caused for those survivors.
The Confidential Committee module was created alongside the inquisitorial process to facilitate those with lived experiences of these institutions to provide accounts to the Commission in complete confidence and as informally as possible in the circumstances. Although care was taken in the design of the Confidential Committee to allow the truth as survivors wanted it told to emerge, I recognise that this has not happened for some.
Since the Final Report of the Commission was published, the former Chair of the Commission confirmed to the Joint Oireachtas Committee that accounts given by survivors were very much taken into account by the Commission in the course of its work and when compiling its report. In a detailed account of the Confidential Committee’s work, the former Chair said that the testimonies of the women were not “discounted” or “discarded” by the Commission, and that any suggestion otherwise was incorrect.
While this clarification is very important, I have also listened to the concerns of survivors on this issue. These concerns were expressed publicly by some, but also in the course of my direct engagements with survivors and their advocates. In June of 2021, I indicated the possibility of a review of the testimony offered to the Confidential Committee to answer the call from survivors to be heard in their own words. Having considered how best to achieve this objective, and recognising the independent analysis subsequently submitted to me by the Special Rapporteur as part of his annual report, I believe that a process with the capacity to record, preserve and recognise survivor personal accounts as part of the official record, provides the best opportunity for responding to the concerns expressed to me by survivors. A central aim of this new initiative, which is envisaged within Actions 7 and 15 of the Action Plan, is to restore choice and agency to survivors should they wish to record and share their deeply personal lived experiences.
I believe that a new initiative provides the opportunity to expand our reach beyond the 550 witnesses who bravely appeared before the Confidential Committee. The option to invite all survivors who may wish to provide personal accounts to participate would not have been possible in a review limited to those who engaged previously with the Commission. Similarly, a narrow focus on the testimony given to the Confidential Committee would not respond to the concerns of those who were unhappy with the record of that testimony as created by the Committee.
My Department is working on proposals for this new process. In progressing the development of this new initiative my officials are consulting with relevant legal and technical experts and, most importantly, will consult with survivors. Specific proposals will be brought to Government for approval this year.
It is intended that the initiative will focus on respectful recording and acknowledgement of lived experiences rather than being inquisitorial in approach. The scheme will be underpinned by statute and operate on a voluntary basis, with personal accounts received and utilised with the consent of participants. It will be overseen by a team with expertise in human rights, trauma and memory, communications and oral history.
Those who recounted their experiences to the Confidential Committee will have the option of permitting the reuse of this testimony and/or offering new or additional oral or written testimony. These personal accounts or “lived experiences” will be housed in the National Centre for Research and Remembrance, which received Government approval on 29 March this year.
This initiative demonstrates the State’s willingness to hear and accept the deeply personal accounts of survivors. A fuller account of our national history can enhance public understanding, contributing to collective atonement and rehabilitation.
In addition, it is important to highlight the potential of associated actions in relation to the centralised archive of institutional records, and supports for further research and education initiatives, which have the capacity to inform further independent analysis on these important matters.
