Mother and Baby Homes commission extension
Deputy Gannon criticises the Government for allowing a motion on extending the Mother and Baby Homes Commission to pass without acting on it, and asks whether the State will defend the commission’s findings in court. The Taoiseach says the motion was about reviewing destroyed audio tapes and transferring the archive, and notes the Minister has now said backup tapes have been found.
I had not intended this but I am returning to the matter of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation. Why did the Government allow a motion to be passed earlier in respect of extending the term of the commission if it was not going to act upon it? That is a really cynical exercise in politics. It brings to mind stroke politics. If the Government is not going to act on the motion, why allow it to pass? Why do such a disservice to the House, to the contributions and to the testimonies of survivors who contacted all of us? No one here is claiming moral superiority. I totally reject the Taoiseach's implication earlier that we were claiming such superiority. We have a different view from the Minister. We were proven correct on GDPR, access to archives and the retrieval of testimonies.
Nobody is claiming moral superiority but when that commission dissolves in a few days' time, steps like a judicial review will not be able to take place and that is wrong. If the commission dissolves-----
Comment on this
-----and the survivors take a judicial review, will this State defend the findings of the commission?
Comment on this
Will the Taoiseach and the State defend the findings of the commission should anyone take a judicial review?
Comment on this
The motion tabled by the Deputy's party's called for an extension of the commission to review the destruction of the audio tapes and then to allow for the salvaging of remaining testimony. Overnight, the Minister has indicated that he is in a position to salvage the tapes and that back-up tapes have been found. I did not hear his speech earlier but he indicated that to us yesterday and has said that in a statement. That is significant in the context of the motion tabled this morning. It also talked about the archive transferring to the Minister, which we are going to do and of which we are in support. The motion also calls for the carrying out of a full review of the legislation pertaining to commissions of inquiry. We are going to do that and are committed to doing it. In addition, as amended by the Labour Party, the motion also provides for enhanced medical cards to be provided to survivors, which the Government is also committed to doing and wants to do.