Never intended for mother and baby home legislation to cause ‘so much anxiety and anger’, says minister

PUBLIC SPENDING MINISTER Michael McGrath has said it was never the intention of the mother and baby home legislation to cause “so much anxiety and anger among many of the people who have been directly affected.”

The cabinet is expected to discuss the consequences of handling the legislation that was passed last week.

Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman will update ministers on plans to publish the report of the Maternal and Child Homes Inquiry Commission.

Speaking on his way to the cabinet today, McGrath said that putting the records out of the reach of the people was not the effect of the legislation, reiterating that the legislation was “primarily to keep and protect records.”

The controversial legislation allows the transfer of a database of 60,000 records compiled by the commission to Tusla, the Agency for Children and Families.

The records will be sealed for 30 years, but this specific aspect is not covered in the new legislation, but in the 2004 Law under which the commission operated.

Many survivors and legal experts expressed anger at the bill’s handling, and opposition TDs criticized the government for pushing through the legislation without proper scrutiny and not accepting any of its amendments last week.

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has also raised concerns about the application of a right to personal data within a 2004 Law on the Commission in maternal and child homes.

In a statement issued over the weekend, the Department said: “The legal advice received by the Department is that the right of the GDPR to access personal data (article 15) is expressly prohibited by section 39 of the Commissions Act of Investigations of 2004 “.

Minister O’Gorman said the Attorney General and the DPC have “maintained continuous communications” on both the 2004 Act and the Government’s Mother and Baby Homes Bill.

McGrath told reporters outside the government buildings that there are “outstanding issues” in regards to who has the right to access their personal data, as well as the provisions for those adopted. He said the government will seek to solve those problems.