Speech by Minister Dr James Reilly, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, on the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters)

Check against delivery

Welcome

I want to welcome everyone here to today’s briefing on Government’s approval of the draft order to establish the Commission of Investigation on Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters.

As you know, I came into office in July 11th last. This was just following a motion passed by Dáil Eireann in June on the need to establish the facts regarding the deaths of children at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co. Galway; and the subsequent publication of the report of the Inter-Department Group on Mother and Baby Homes.

Consultation

When I came into Office, I was particularly concerned to meet with, and hear, at first hand, the accounts of many people who had expressed views on the need for a full exploration of all the issues raised by the discoveries in Tuam.

These included a demand to explore a wide range of matters – many directly related to the disturbing account provided by Catherine Corless; others related to the wider issue of mother and baby homes generally, and the role that they played in Ireland over such a long period.

Thanks for Individuals and Groups in Assisting Formulation of Terms of Reference

For those who gave me individual accounts of their experiences, I found these compelling … and I greatly appreciate the willingness and courage of those most centrally affected in sharing their experiences with me. On my own behalf, and that of the government, I want to thank them for taking the time to meet with me.

Other advocacy groups, public bodies and political colleagues across the spectrum also provided me with a wide range of views.

All of these have assisted me greatly in focusing the terms of reference in what was an extensive scoping process given the complexity and sensitivity of the issues.

Well-defined Terms of Reference

The terms of reference agreed by Government have been developed with regard to the requirements of the Commissions of Investigation Act. My objective is to establish a Commission capable of delivering on public expectations, in a reasonable time frame. Given the breadth of issues raised with me, this has been a challenge.

I think all of the groups agreed that making this a feasible task which can be completed in a realistic time frame is critical. However I know both they and I agree, that this has to be balanced with ensuring that we don’t compromise on the need to ensure that the Commission can answer the questions which have been raised.

Beginning with Tuam……..Scoping the Task

As you are all aware, this debate began around the reports of mass graves in Tuam Co. Galway on the grounds of the Bons Secours Mother and Baby Home. The issues here were narrow initially – the high rate of mortality; the burial arrangements. But the debate broadened to the question of the operational arrangements in such homes – the care and welfare provided to both mothers and babies.

As our work progressed, a further set of issues arose about the whole phenomenon of mother and baby institutions in Ireland as a response to the issue of crisis pregnancy, over a much longer period of time.

As individuals and groups made submissions, and following the work of the Inter-Departmental Group and my own meetings, it was very clear to me that the issue of entry and exit pathways of both women and children raised further questions regarding the social, political and legal environment that prevailed – and how that evolved over time.

Further, the links between mother and baby homes and the issue of adoption – both pre and post the introduction of legal adoption in Ireland – were highlighted. This included questions about children adopted and who went abroad and children whose parentage was concealed with, and perhaps without, the consent or knowledge of their mothers.

As is clear, this is a much wider agenda than our starting point.

Where We Are Now

Today, I am pleased to announce the government’s agreement to the Terms of Reference.

I believe that they reflect the range of matters that we were asked to consider, and are a fair and balanced response to the many requests for issues and items to be included.

Basic Framework of TOR

The Terms of Reference are based on a combination of four distinct factors:

• clarifying that the intended focus is on single women and children being accommodated for the purpose of receiving extended and supervised maternity and infant care services in Mother and Baby Homes
• defining the specific issues of public concern as discrete matters to be investigated
• specifying a list of Mother and Baby Homes and, in addition, providing for examination of equivalent experiences within the network of County Homes
• defining the relevant period as being from 1922 to 1998, while allowing the Commission to reduce the “relevant period” in respect of any component part or institution if it considers it appropriate to do so

Methods of Investigation

The Terms of Reference provide for a comprehensive investigative framework, involving interlinked and concurrent lines of inquiry.

In addition to the main investigation methods, a Confidential Committee will allow former residents to provide accounts of their experience in private. Alongside this, a social history module will provide context through an objective and comprehensive analysis of key issues.

The Commission can have regard to facts established through previous enquires into related institutions, and experience gained in conducting similar investigations in the past.

The questions to be addressed

The primary focus of the investigation is on the experiences of women and children who lived in Mother and Baby Homes over the period 1922-1998.

The following matters will be investigated:

• entry arrangements and exit pathways of single women (Article 1(i))
• living conditions and care arrangements in these institutions (Article 1(ii))
• mortality among mothers and children; causes, circumstances and rates (Article 1(iii))
• post-mortem practices and procedures; reporting, burial arrangements and the transfer of remains for anatomical examination (Article 1(iv))
• compliance with relevant regulatory and ethical standards in relation to systemic vaccine trials identified by the Commission as being conducted on children in these homes (Article 1(v))
• entry arrangements and exit pathways for mothers and children leaving institutions, patterns of referral and relevant relationships with other entities (Article 1(vi) and (vii))
• the extent to which any group of residents may have systematically been treated differently on any grounds (Article 1(viii)), including race, disability and religion

What Institutions Are Included?

The approach taken is to provide a clear and deliberate emphasis on the experiences of women and children who spent time in Mother and Baby Homes over the period. The motion approved by Dáil Eireann had a central emphasis on Mother and Baby Homes, and during the course of our deliberations, a clear consensus emerged on the need to thoroughly examine the experience of those who spent time in Mother and Baby Homes.

Accordingly, the Terms of Reference have focus on institutions which can clearly be identified as having both:

(i) the primary function of providing sheltered and supervised ante and post-natal facilities to single mothers and their children, which included both board and lodgings

(ii) an ethos which those running the institutions considered to promote a regime of work, training or education as part of an overall approach to either rehabilitating single mothers before they left the institution, or to give them training for living independently

In many cases, and as established in the academic literature, institutional approaches were based on a moralistic approach intended to rehabilitate single mothers and to make arrangements regarding the future care of the children.

Since the Report of the Inter-Departmental Group was published, further information came to light which led to a number of additional institutions being identified. The Appendix to the draft Order sets out the list of Mother and Baby Homes and related institutions which are to be investigated.

County Homes

It is also clear from the available evidence that in certain parts of the country, the services provided by Mother and Baby Home were carried out within the local county home. County homes evolved through the Local Government (Temporary Provisions) Act 1923, which brought the administration of public assistance services formally into the Irish Free State, and provided that in each county one workhouse building should be retained as a ‘county home’.

In some county homes, mother and baby type services appear to have been a considerable focus of operations. For that reason, the terms of reference provide that the Commission will also consider a representative sample of county homes in its investigations and reports. The sample will be selected by the Commission based on evidence of the extent of the operation of this specific function, considering factors such as the number of relevant births, the duration of such operations and the typical length of time for which these mothers and children were accommodated.

What About Other Closely Related Institutions?

Very importantly, Article 1(VII) requires the Commission to investigate the nature of the relationship between Mother and Baby Homes and other key institutions – these include children’s homes; orphanages; and adoption societies. Some of these were in fact on the same site as the Mother and Baby Home – others were not. This will allow the Commission to investigate concerns about how children exited such institutions.

The Terms of Reference require the Commission to identify the extent to which children’s welfare and best interests were considered in making arrangements for their placement, whether through ‘boarding out’, fostering or adoption, both here in Ireland and abroad. They further ask the Commission to identify the extent of mothers’ participation in such decisions, including procedures around mothers’ consent, and the extent to which these procedures were sufficient to ensure that consent was full, free and informed.

There appears to have been well-established patterns of referral to and through these services to final placements for many of the children.

The Commission will investigate evidence relating to patterns of referral, relationships and cooperation with other entities and intermediary organisations, and any systematic arrangements for the placement of children.

I believe that this will allow the Commission sufficient scope to examine both the issue of placing such children for adoption abroad, as well as to examine situations in which the child’s parentage was concealed, either by omission or sometimes, by illegal means.

Commission Powers

I believe that both the Commissions of Investigation Act and the Terms of Reference themselves provide adequate opportunity for the Commission to take an independent view of the adequacy of scope, given its task. I also want to refer to the opportunities for the Commission to make recommendations.

Firstly, the Commission may make any recommendations it considers appropriate in any of its reports. This is not limited to matters within the direct scope of its investigations, but may also include issues which it considers to warrant further investigation in the public interest.

Secondly, as part of the social history module, the Commission is tasked with reporting to me on any specific matter that it considers may warrant further investigation in the public interest, but which is not covered by the existing scope.

This mechanism takes maximum advantage of the investigative powers, resources and expertise of the Commission, and ensures that any additional matter which may warrant investigation can be brought to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs for further consideration.

Commission Members

I am also delighted to announce the appointment of two eminent experts to the Commission: social historian, Professor Mary Daly, and Dr. William Duncan, an expert in international public and private family law.

Together, they provide an excellent complement to the expertise and experience of the Chair, Judge Yvonne Murphy.

These appointments reflect my understanding of the need for a depth of knowledge and expertise across these areas, which will be required to allow for a comprehensive assessment of the issues and for well-grounded reports and recommendations in due course.

Handover……..

I believe that this Commission will be critically important in coming to terms with our own history, and in understanding who we are as a people.

I hope that this Commission – which has all the powers needed to get the information required – will help us all come to a better understanding of how we treated mothers and children in these homes, and how we can learn from this for the future.

I have highlighted a number of the key issues here but I also want to ask my Acting Secretary General to take you through the Terms of Reference in a little bit more detail before taking questions.

ENDS