Calls for Mother and Baby Homes Commission to be extended

ireland
Calls For Mother And Baby Homes Commission To Be Extended
A shrine at the location of a Mother and Baby home in Tuam, Co Galway. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
Share this article

Campaigners and politicians have said the lifetime of the Mother and Baby Home Commission must be extended as survivors still have questions as to why some testimonies were destroyed.

The Commission is due to wind up at the end of the month, having published its' final report in January.

Advertisement

It recently emerged audio recordings of witness testimony made to the Commission were quickly erased after the report was published last month, with many survivors saying they were not informed their statements would be deleted.

The Data Protection Commissioner has since written to the Commission raising concerns regarding the situation and asking for the justification for deleting the testimonies.

Dr Maeve O’Rourke, a human rights lawyer who has worked with survivors groups, says victims now fear their experiences will never be properly recorded.

"The key point was there was no stenographer and the Commission didn't transcribe the audio fully before deleting it.

Advertisement

"We don't have fully recordings of what people said and that means they are not available to the people themselves."

Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns has called for the winding up to be delayed, saying the deletion of the files must be investigated.

"There are so many unanswered questions about this that we simply can't let the Commission dissolve on February 28th.

"The destruction of testimony violates the Commission of Investigation Act which requires deposits of every record to the Minister. It is also a total breach of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)."

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says the Government is now examining whether to extend the term of the Commission.

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com