The final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes has been delivered to the Government.
The Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said he had sent it to the Attorney General (AG) for legal advice on whether it can be published without affecting any ongoing criminal cases.
He said the AG has been provided with extra resources to ensure his review can be completed as quickly as possible.
Minister O’Gorman thanked everyone who shared their experiences of the institutions with the Commission.
“In particular, I would like to pay special tribute to the survivors of these institutions, and their families for the courage and determination they have shown in coming forward and recounting their experiences of Mother and Baby Homes to the Commission,” he said.
“I hope that, by having the opportunity to recount their experiences, former residents and their families feel that they have a voice; that they have been heard, that their hurt is acknowledged and their experiences are now documented.
“Difficult though this report will be, I hope that this can assist the healing process.”
He also thanked the members of the commission for the “thorough and detailed work undertaken by them over the past five years in compiling this report.”
“The report received today is amongst the longest reports yet produced by an inquiry of this nature,” he said.
“The work of the Commission will no doubt shed an important light into a dark and difficult chapter of very recent Irish history – a history that is living memory for so many of our citizens today.”
He said he aims to publish the report “as soon as possible.”
Minister O’Gorman noted that the Government has now committed to passing legislation “to provide for sensitive and appropriate actions at the burial site at the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway, and at any other sites where this is appropriate.”
He said survivors will also be able to access some of their records from the homes under GDPR legislation.
The Government has also committed to establishing on a formal, national basis, an archive of records related to institutional trauma during the 20th century.
