Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 March 2026
223. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the Government will release the records relating to mother and baby institutions instead of keeping them restricted for up to 30 years. [17276/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe arrangements for preserving the records compiled by a Commission of Investigation in the course of its work are prescribed in Section 43(2) of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. This provides that, prior to its dissolution, a Commission must deposit all records with the prescribed Minister. On the expiry of a 30-year period thereafter, such records will be transferred to the National Archives and access is regulated in accordance with the National Archives Act, 1986.In 2020 the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes informed the department that it had created a database in relation to the mothers and children who passed through 15 of the 18 institutions under investigation. The Commission indicated it believed it would be a valuable resource to assist information and tracing services for mothers and children, but it also felt it was compelled by law to redact much valuable information within.
To ensure that this database information could be preserved and be available to survivors directly, the Government brought forward legislation - the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Act 2020. This Act provided for the deposit of the Commission's database with Tusla, in addition to transferring a copy of this database, together with the Commission's entire archive of records, to the Minister for Children.
Legislation enables the department to process subject access requests from people who wish to seek access to personal information that may be contained within the database and these records.
Following engagement with the Office of the Attorney General, the Data Protection Commissioner and independent experts in the area of GDPR, the Department published information for individuals including its privacy notice indicating what personal data the Department holds and how it processes it, and a guide on how to request access to personal information (Subject Access Request (SAR)). A dedicated phone line (01-2376001) provides information for callers on the SAR process, and information on this is also regularly communicated to survivors and former residents via quarterly updates pursuant to the Action Plan. More information on how to access personal data which may be held in the records of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation can be found here - https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/organisation-information/transfer-of-records-from-the-mother-and-baby-homes-commission-of-investigation/
For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to clarify that the Commission was not in possession of original records and, therefore, no original records were impacted by the provisions in the 2004 legislation. State records remain in the possession of the relevant statutory body and appropriate access is regulated in accordance with relevant statute.
One of the seven major commitments in the Government's Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions was access to identity information. The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 provides a full and clear right of access to birth certificates and birth and early life information for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, nursed out or the subject of an illegal birth registration, or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins. The 2022 Act enables Tusla to process the Commission database for the purpose of responding to requests from relevant persons for personal information. To date, under the Birth Information and Tracing Act, Tusla and the AAI have responded to over 17,200 requests for identity information.
