Oireachtas Member Responses to BN Letter Regarding Mother and Baby Home Archives

Private & Confidential

I wanted to send you a further quick update on the work we the Independent members of the Dáil and Seanad are doing to oppose the governments attempt to ram through this legislation.

·        On Friday Senators Alice Mary Higgins and Lynn Ruane forced the Minister to concede that he would bring forward a small number of amendments to address the concerns about among other things:

§  The production of a proper document index.

§  That a full copy of the Commission’s papers would remain intact.

§  Concerns around anonymity of records.

·        Also, on Friday Bríd Smith TD, fought and won the battle to extend the amendments deadline from Friday morning to this evening at 6pm.

·        In order to ensure that he lives up to these commitments, I am meeting as we speak with Alice Mary, Lynn, Catherine Connolly and Dr Maeve O’Rourke to review our amendments and to target these specific areas, as well as addressing the other outstanding issues that the Minister has chosen to ignore so far. We will update our amendments and resubmit them by this evening’s deadline of 6pm.

·        We are canvassing across party lines (and indeed within government) for support for our amendments, in order to present as coordinated and forceful counter proposal to the Minister.

We have received almost 6000 individual emails such as yours Marley, and they have had the effect of making public representatives sit up and take notice this legislation. But there is more to be done as the ICT section very quickly moved to screen them out such was the volume; it crashed the system. All emails on the subject now are being screened out. So, I’m asking you to take time today and tomorrow and Wednesday to do the following:

1.      Ring your local government TDs (especially your Fianna Fail TDs as there is some resistance within the party to adopting this legislation). You can find their numbers here: https://www.whoismytd.com/

2.      Impress upon them politely:

a.      That you are a constituent of theirs. (Confirm your name and address)

b.     That this legislation is wrong and is a further kick in the teeth for survivors and families affected by the Mother & Baby Homes.

c.      That they need to support amendments to this legislation along the lines of the proposals being brought forward by ourselves. (Dr Maeve O’Rourke has been in contact with several FF TDs over the weekend to advocate for the changes we believe are needed.)

d.     If this personally affects you, outline your personal story to them.

3.      Ring the other government TDs outside your constituency with the same message as above.

4.      Ask your friends, family and work colleagues to do the same.

It is through the combined pressure of the public and TDs that we will win this battle. Every phone call can make a difference.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Thomas Pringle TD

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Thank you for your email which has been received by the Office of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, T.D.

Your correspondence will be brought to the attention of the Tánaiste and relevant officials in the Department. If the issue raised is more appropriate to another Government Department I will arrange to transfer your correspondence to that Department for attention and direct reply to you.

The Tánaiste has asked me to thank you for your email.

Yours sincerely,

Éamonn McCormack,

Private Secretary to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. 

The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation is a Designated Public Official under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. You may need to assess whether any particular communication with him requires to be registered in accordance with the Act. If you are unsure of the requirements, more information is available at https://www.lobbying.ie/

Is Oifigeach Poiblí Ainmnithe faoin Acht um Brústocaireacht a Rialáil, 2015 í an Aire Gnó, Fiontar agus Nuálaíochta. B’fhéidir go mbeidh ort a mheas cé acu an gá nó nach gá aon chumarsáid ar leith léi a chlárú de réir an Achta. Mura bhfuil tú cinnte faoi na riachtanais atá ann, is féidir leat teach tar a thuilleadh eolais ar https://www.lobbying.ie/

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A chara,

Marley,

Thank you for raising your concerns regarding the Government’s Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and Certain related Matters) Records Bill 2020.

Sinn Féin welcomes the publication of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation Report. We know this has been a deeply personal process for survivors and families.

We do not support the government’s legislation. Under the existing 2004 Act the records held by the Commission can be deposited with the Minister on dissolution.

This Bill needs to be scrapped. The Minister instead should produce an anonymised index of the records held by the Commission, consult with survivors and families and then draft appropriate legislation that meets the rights of survivors and the moral obligations of the State.

It is also important that any new legislation enables survivors decide how to handle their own records.

It is important to remember that when dealing with the  deeply contentious Retention of Records Bill last year regarding the Ryan Commission records the Oireachtas Education Committee recommended to allow survivors who submitted testimonies access to their own records, the possible anonymisation or redaction of records made available for public access, and the provision of legislation to enable individual survivors to decide how they would prefer to handle their records.

The establishment of a dedicated archive at Seán McDermott Street site (which housed the last Magdalene Laundry) would meet these recommendations and ensure that future generations know and understand the State’s horrific treatment of women and children during this dark period in Ireland’s history.

Please be assured that we are committed to survivors and families right to access their own records, and to the preservation of all records.

Is mise

Deputy Kathleen Funchion

Sinn Fein Spokesperson on Children, Disability, Integration & Equality

Kind regards

Pat Buckley TD

East Cork

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Beartas ríomhphoist an Oireachtais agus séanadh. http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/ga/eolas/beartasriomhphoistanoireachtaisagusseanadh/

Today I received over two thousand emails expressing concern about the legislation proposed on the Mother and Baby Homes Commission database bill.

Given our storied history, I was not shocked to hear the concern around this, but I think something has been lost in all of this and that is communication.

I’d like to take a moment to clarify what is being done and why in the hope that it might allay your fears. I apologise for any delay in responding to you, you might understand I endeavour to answer each email as best I can.

The bill which is being brought forward is needed to preserve access to invaluable information now and into the future, and not to lock it away as has been reported

The Mother and Baby Homes Commission was set up under the 2004 Commissions of Investigation Act. and is expected to report at the end of October its findings, it is expected to be extremely detailed to include a a social history and witness testimony.

The entire premise of the 2004 Act, which Government must follow, is that investigations are held in utmost confidence. This confidentiality applies to the evidence and the records gathered by the inquiry but concern was raised that the database containing the information about who was in these Mother  Baby Homes would have to be redacted to transfer under law.

This bill would preserve this information, it would allow access to the information under legislation and preserves the fact that the Department does not have access to the records and prohibits by law any disclosure and the information is already in possession of TUSLA in the main.

It is important to note that the 2004 Act required that records like these be  sealed for a period of 30 years pending their transfer to the National Archives.

I have been informed by the MInister that he is absolutely committed to addressing the wider matter of providing a new architecture surrounding access to birth information and tracing and aims to advance this soon and welcome all voices on this. I will be happy to assist you in having your voice heard when that time comes so do keep in touch. It is important that nobody is silenced, it is important that voices are given space to be heard and I am committed to supporting that. I want to say thank you for your engagement on this matter, it has been a valuable lesson for me to read your email and I appreciate the effort you went to in compiling it.

My very best regards to you,

Jennifer

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Dear Marley

Thank you for the email and for raising your concerns about the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes) Records Bill with me. I share your views as to the unfortunate way in which this legislation is being rushed through the Oireachtas, and I agree with your comments about the need to ensure these crucial records are respectfully preserved and rendered accessible in an anonymised other redacted manner. Our  Labour spokesperson on Children and Youth, Ivana Bacik will be raising these issues when we debate the Bill in the Seanad on Wednesday and Friday of this week.

Thank you again for the email,

Best wishes

Alan Kelly TD

The Labour Party

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Morning Marley,

Many thanks for your email.

Regards,

Patrick Higgins

Behalf of Senator Malcolm Byrne

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679, we have a legal duty to protect any information we collect from you. Information contained in this email and any attachments may be provoleged or confidential and intended for the exclusive use of the original recipient. If you have received this email by mistake, please advise the sender immediately and delete the email, including emptying your deleted email box

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Statement by the Minister O’Gorman, TD, on the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters) Records, And Another Matter, Bill 2020

Last week I published the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters) Records, And Another Matter, Bill 2020.

I am aware that concerns have been expressed regarding the proposed legislation.  Given the weight of history in Ireland on these matters, and the very real lived experience of Mother and Baby Homes which many people in Ireland carry, it is entirely understandable that people may wish to seek clarity on what is proposed.

I am issuing this statement in order to clarify the intention of the legislation, and my hope is that this will serve to address any misunderstanding and will allay concerns.

In short, the bill is being brought forward to preserve access to invaluable information now and into the future.  Contrary to what has been reported, the intention of the legislation is not to put the information beyond reach.  Rather, it is to ensure that information is not destroyed and that relevant information can be made available for information and tracing purposes in line with current and future law.

Earlier this year, the Mother and Baby Homes Commission informed us that it had created a database, tracking who was in the main Mother and Baby Homes, but it did not feel it had a legal basis to transfer that database and would be compelled by law to redact the valuable information we are trying to now preserve. This bill allows the database to be preserved and transferred to Tusla (with whom most of the original records are already held). It prevents the information from effectively being destroyed, and will allow access to that information under existing laws.  The information can also be made available to the National Archives at the appropriate time.

The Mother and Baby Home Commission of Investigation was set up under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. The entire premise of the 2004 Act, which we are bound to follow, is that investigations are held in private. That confidentiality applies to the evidence and records gathered by the inquiry. It is central to allow testimony be given freely.

The effect of the confidentiality provisions woven into the 2004 Act is that the Commission’s archive of records must be deposited with the Minister in a sealed form and must remain so for a period of 30 years, pending its transfer to the National Archives.  While the records must transfer in their complete and unredacted form, the anonymity of those who provided testimony is maintained by virtue of this requirement for the records to remain sealed.

While anonymity may be fundamentally important to some of those who provided testimony to the Commission, equally, I recognise that others may be anxious to have sight of their testimony and to know that it is recorded for posterity.  It’s important to note two points which may serve to address those concerns:

Firstly, I understand that, within the Final Report of the Commission, the section on the Confidential Committee will reproduce the anonymised testimony of each individual who appeared before it.  While the testimony will be anonymous and slightly summarised, people will nonetheless be able to see and recognise their own story told in their own words.

Secondly, by affirming that the archive of records is to be deposited in an unredacted form, this Bill preserves the constitutional rights of those witnesses who wanted their identities to be recorded for posterity and relied on the existing law to achieve this.

The Commission is due to submit its final report and stand dissolved in law on 30th October.  This Bill needs to be passed and signed into law prior to its dissolution.  Failure to act will result in an incomplete archive transferring and in the database being effectively destroyed and unavailable for information and tracing.

In conclusion, the present Bill is focused on protecting a valuable and unique resource which will assist in accessing personal information under existing law and will be hugely beneficial in any future information and tracing legislation. No future opportunity for access to this information will be lost by virtue of this bill coming into effect – its sole purpose is to preserve a critically invaluable database for future use to the maximum extent possible under law.

I’m absolutely committed to addressing the wider matter of providing a new architecture surrounding access to birth information and tracing; this will be advanced soon. I look forward to engaging widely to allow all those with a stake in this process to have their voice heard.

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Dear Marley

Thank you for the email and for raising your concerns about the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes) Records Bill with me.

I share your views as to the unfortunate way in which this legislation is being rushed through the Oireachtas, and I agree with your comments about the need to ensure these crucial records are respectfully preserved and rendered accessible in an anonymised other redacted manner.

I will be raising this with Senator Ivana Bacik, the Labour spokesperson on Children and Youth, and you can be assured will be raising these issues when the debate on the Bill in the Seanad on Wednesday and Friday of this week.

Thank you again for the email, I hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and well.

Kind regards,

Duncan Smith TD

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