Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth publishes Report on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to provide the statutory basis and framework under which Government may decide to authorise interventions where manifestly inappropriate burials have taken place associated with institutions supervised, regulated or operated by or on behalf of the State, and for the establishment of an Agency to carry out such interventions. The Bill aims to provide a framework for handling sites such as Tuam, Co Galway, where human remains are discovered.

Committee Cathaoirleach Kathleen Funchion TD said: “Since the publication of the report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes in January, the Committee has prioritised work on legislation arising from the report, the aim being to do its utmost for survivors and their families. To this end, the Committee undertook extensive engagement with survivors, experts and the public as part of the process of examining this Bill.

“While the issues surrounding this piece of legislation are difficult, common themes emerged during pre-legislative scrutiny and potential issues were flagged. The Committee agreed 65 recommendations, on a cross-party basis, in an effort to bring the legislation more in line with the rights of survivors and family, the evidence put forward by stakeholders, and the principles of transitional justice, namely:  justice, reparation, truth-telling, and guarantees of non-recurrence.”

Some of the Joint Committee’s recommendations include:

·       Removing the 70-year time limit in line with the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, which examined the period of 1922 to 1998. Pre-1950 burial sites should not be excluded.

·       Building engagement with families and survivors into the Bill as much as possible and including provisions which respect their existing rights under domestic and international law.

·       Broadening access to the identification programme, significantly lengthening the time samples are kept for and making explicit commitments to using internationally recognised best practice and expertise.

·       A full review of the qualifying criteria for intervention.

·       The appointment of an Agency Coroner should be considered, with the necessary additional powers and duties to comply with Ireland’s European human rights law obligations.

·       A provision to ensure the scope of the Agency to intervene extends to burial sites at all Irish institutions.

Deputy Funchion said: “The Committee’s consideration of this Bill has underlined the importance of pre-legislative scrutiny in highlighting the rights and perspectives of the people affected. By undertaking such extensive pre-legislative scrutiny, we have managed to harness decades of personal experience and academic expertise among the stakeholders involved. From survivors, to family, to social, legal and scientific experts in their field, all gave generously of their time and wisdom, with many having campaigned on similar issues over many years and in many forums.

“The Committee wants those rights and perspectives reflected in this Bill. To this end, we encourage the Minister and all those involved in progressing this Bill to closely examine the testimony the Committee received and to implement the recommendations in this report.”

Deputy Funchion added: “On behalf of the Committee I want to thank all those who engaged in this process, including all the groups and individuals who made written submissions to the Committee and all those survivors and experts who attended our public hearings. The Committee is extremely grateful to those who contributed.”

The Report on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill is available on the Oireachtas website.

The Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.