[ad_1]
Updated 30 minutes ago
Source: Oireachtas
THE DÁIL HAS passed the government’s Mother and Baby Homes Bill.
The bill was approved with 78 votes in favor and 67 against.
Although a non-electronic vote was requested after the vote, Ceann Comhairle said that the difference between the two amounts was more than 10, so it was not possible.
Earlier, the government said it would not consider the opposition’s amendments.
The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, told TDs that amendments to the bill that would allow victims to choose whether they want their name registered or remain anonymous would not be considered. .
A database of information compiled by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission will be provided to the Tusla children’s and families agency, now that the Commission’s work is complete.
The remaining records would be sealed for 30 years under a 2004 Act, which would mean that survivors and their families would be hidden.
The opposition TDs had drafted amendments that they claimed were based on requests from survivors and human rights experts.
Social Democratic TDs Jennifer Whitmore and Holly Cairns were among the TDs who expressed annoyance that O’Gorman would not accept any amendments to the bill.
Whitmore called for a free vote on the legislation.
In a statement sent to TheJournal.ie, Cairns said:
It is incredible that after the pleas of the survivors of institutional abuse and thousands of messages from the common people, the government will not even consider one of the more than 60 amendments of the opposition.
“Tonight, the government will vote through a bill that has had no participation from the survivors.”
Labor TD Seán Sherlock said the refusal to accept amendments “makes a mockery of the legislative process.”
Sinn Féin TD Kathleen Funchion said she was not going to intervene, but felt she had to:
I don’t know what that says about the democratic process, but it doesn’t say much.
Several TDs expressed surprise that O’Gorman has endorsed the bill and is not accepting amendments either.
Source: Oireachtas
Minister Roderic O’Gorman said Oireachtas’ debates on the bill have been exacerbated by the “rawness” of the pain survivors feel.
O’Gorman says he has listened carefully to the concerns raised by the people and has tabled an amendment committing him to receive a complete copy of the entire Commission file, including a copy of what is sent to Tusla.
The amendment to the bill has generated controversy since it emerged last week.
O’Gorman said yesterday that the debate over what should be done instead had “combined the genuine objectives of this bill with the pre-existing legal requirements in place regarding the sealing of Commission records for 30 years,” but He added that it was “impossible” to ignore the volume of correspondence he had received.
O’Gorman also said last night that it is clear that “a reexamination of the current approach on how access to Commission files is provided for certain survivor validation personal information is needed.”
In doing so, I believe that there is an obligation to survivors and their families that goes beyond purely legal issues.
No news is bad news
Support the magazine
your contributions help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you
Support us now
To begin this process, O’Gorman committed to two actions:
“First, I have requested – this has been agreed – a detailed engagement with the Attorney General’s Office on the issue of access to personal data in the Commission’s files, which is of vital importance to so many former residents.
“Second, I intend to ask the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration to lead this reexamination in a format that allows survivors and their representatives, expert legal opinion, and other prominent scholars to fully explore the main principles on which the debate on access to personal information in the commission’s files is based and to formulate a series of recommendations to resolve the very real difficulties that the approval of this legislation has revealed.
“As part of this, I am committed to working closely with the committee to find a way forward,” he said.
With reporting by Órla Ryan
[ad_2]