Minister O’Gorman publishes Institutional Burials Bill
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has today (22 February 2022) obtained Government approval for the publication of the Institutional Burials Bill 2022.
This crucial piece of legislation will provide a lawful basis for a forensic excavation, recovery and analysis of remains at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam, undertaken to international standards. It will allow DNA based identification to be undertaken to reunite families with the remains of their loved ones, and will ensure that the children there have the dignified burial that has been denied to them for so long.
In response to Pre-Legislative Scrutiny recommendations and concerns expressed by family representatives, the Minister has made a number of very significant changes to the Bill, including:
The legislation will allow the Government, by order, to direct an intervention at a site and to approve the appointment of a Director to oversee and manage a phased, step-by-step approach, comprising some or all of the following steps:
An Advisory Board, which will include coronial and scientific expertise, as well as family and former resident representatives, will be appointed to guide and support the Director in the role.
The legislation is not site specific and will also be able to cater for an intervention at other sites should similar situations arise.
In the context of Tuam, the available information suggests that the excavation, recovery and identification process will be extremely complex because of the number and age of the children interred there and the manner in which the remains are interred. While this intervention is therefore expected to be challenging, the legislation ensures that it will be carried out by professionals in line with international standards and best practice so as to maximise what is scientifically achievable in relation to the identification and return of remains.
Speaking on the Bill, Minister O’Gorman said:
“What happened at Tuam is a stain on our national conscience. The Institutional Burials Bill will allow us, at long last, to afford the children interred at Tuam a dignified and respectful burial. I have listened carefully to families, survivors, and independent experts in order to strengthen and improve the legislation, and this is reflected in the Bill approved by Government today.
“It is now 5 years since remains were confirmed at the site in Tuam, and I believe that the families affected have had to wait far too long for exhumation to commence. The legislation we are publishing today will allow us to move forward, in partnership with Tuam families, survivors and their advocates, and finally reunite them with their loved one’s remains.
“I am absolutely committed to now advancing the Bill as quickly as possible. If it is enacted, I intend to establish an Office of the Tuam Director and start the excavation later this year.”
The Bill will be formally published by the Oireachtas later this week and the Minister intends to begin second stage of this priority legislation in the Houses of the Oireachtas within the next two weeks.
ENDS
The Minister has taken significant steps to address concerns raised by stakeholders and the recommendations arising from the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny Process. The key issues raised in that context included the restriction on the role of the coroner, the need to identify the remains of the deceased where possible and the importance of ongoing engagement with stakeholders. In response the Minister has:
Other changes the Minster has made to response to recommendations of the report of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme include:
An Expert Technical Group (ETG) published a technical report on the Tuam site in December 2017. The report highlights the unprecedented nature of the site and notes that there are no directly comparable national or international cases. It sets out the factors that make the situation in Tuam unique, including the ‘significant’ quantities of juvenile remains, the commingled or intermixed state and the position of the remains within subsurface chambers with limited access. It suggests that these factors need to be considered in terms of what is feasible at the Tuam site and the outcomes that can be reasonably expected.
The report outlined a number of options for responding to the situation. The Government decision to intervene at the site reflected the most extensive option of a full forensic-standard excavation and recovery from the total available area at the Tuam site. This legislation provides the legal basis to undertake this work in its entirety.