Contact us

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth operates a dedicated telephone information line available for people seeking further information on Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. The department’s Information Line can be contacted on +353 (0)1 647 3200 from Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5.30pm or by email at motherandbabyhomes@equality.gov.ie

The department also holds an email contact list in order to issue updates to those with an interest in issues relating to Mother and Baby and County Homes. If you would like your email address to be included on our contact list in order to receive future updates please send an email to motherandbabyhomes@equality.gov.ie requesting that your details be included. When we receive your request we will update our contact list and confirm your inclusion by a return email.

Recent updates which have been sent to the mailing list can also be read here.

The Action Plan, as well as Annual Reports and Quarterly Updates on progress, can be accessed online here.

Hard copies of the following can be obtained by contacting the department at the above telephone number or email address:

• the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes
• the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions
• documents related to the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme

If you would like to access your personal data which may be held in the records of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, we request that you fill out the Subject Access Request form and email it to sar@equality.gov.ie as this will help us to process your request more efficiently.

Please be aware that 14 Mother and Baby Homes and 4 County Homes were investigated by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation– a full list of the Homes investigated by the Commission is available here On the dissolution of the Commission, the records relating to the Institutions investigated by the Commission were transferred to the Department.

If your request relates to an Institution which is not included on the list of the Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes investigated by the Commission of Investigation, you may wish to forward your subject access request to the organisation which is relevant to your particular situation. Additionally, you may also wish to forward your subject access request to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Further information about Tusla’s Data Protection Unit is available here.

If you would like assistance or further information about making a Subject Access Request (SAR) in respect of the records relating to the Institutions which were investigated by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, the department’s SAR Information Line can be contacted on +353 (0)1 237 6001 from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm or by email sar@equality.gov.ie

Further information can be found here.

Tusla

The Child and Family Agency (Tusla) operates an adoption information and tracing service in various locations throughout the country.

Any person seeking adoption information and tracing services may wish to contact Tusla by phone at +353 (0)1 7718500 or by email at info@tusla.ie

If you do not know which agency handled the adoption, or if the adoption was organised through an agency other than those listed on the Tusla website, please contact the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Information and Tracing Unit for assistance.

Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI)

Any person seeking information in relation to their adoption can contact the Adoption Authority of Ireland on +353 (0)1 2309300

The Adoption Authority of Ireland is an independent body established on 1 November 2010 under the Adoption Act 2010.

For more information go to aai.gov.ie

HSE

For information on available supports and information on how to access them call the HSE Live team on 1800 817 517

Their line is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and on Saturday from 9am to 5pm.

For more contact details and supports go to the HSE dedicated webpage.

Payment Scheme Office Helpline

The Payment Scheme Office operate a Helpline on +353 (0)1 522 9992. This Helpline is open between 9am and 6pm GMT, Monday to Friday or email info@paymentscheme.ie

Special Advocate for Survivors

The Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse is Patricia Carey. The primary role of the Special Advocate is to amplify the voices of survivors as a central, essential input to Government deliberations on matters which affect them.

To find out more about the role of the Special Advocate visit the dedicated website at www.specialadvocate.ie

You can contact the Special Advocate team in a number of different ways:

• By Email: info@specialadvocate.ie

• By Phone: +353 (0)1 511 7660

• By Post:

Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse,

First Floor, Holbrook House,

Holles Street, Dublin 2, D02 EY84,

Ireland