Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman has acknowledged new legislation on mother and baby homes does not address all the concerns raised about access to historical records.
He said there remains the need for proper tracing legislation and a national archive for the records of the various reports and commissions.
Better systems to secure the rights to early information will be required, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Mr O’Gorman said he had engaged with the Attorney General and his office since the legislation had been announced. On October 19th he had been contacted by the Data Commissioner who raised the issue of the general data protection regulation (GDPR) which Mr O’Gorman sent to the Attorney General’s office.
He said there was a need for a national adoption archive to ensure that the records from the various reports and commissions were properly managed with access for survivors and adoptees.
He confirmed that his department was looking at other systems elsewhere in the world. The German approach to the files of the Stasi secret police in East Germany which allowed information to be revealed in an appropriate way was a potential model, he said.
Mr O’Gorman said that his department would also engage with the Data Protection Commissioner with regard to the tests that will have to be applied to allow access to the archive.
The key priority was the right to access, he said.
Survivor groups
Mr O'Gorman also said he would “absolutely” be willing to meet with groups representing survivors and adoptees and was at present in the process of engaging with such groups and their advocates.
He said he acknowledged there was “a deep rawness” for survivors and he hoped the “substantial range” of measures would be seen as a step to build back trust.
The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, which was chaired by former circuit court judge Yvonne Murphy, is due to hand over its 4,000 page-long final report to the Government on Friday.
Mr O’Gorman said the report needed to be published as soon as possible. Additional resources had been allocated to the Attorney General’s office so the report could be read and published swiftly, he said.
“There is a desire across the Cabinet to get it published as soon as possible.”
