At its meeting today (27/07/2016) the Government agreed to a request from
the Mother and Baby Homes Commission to extend the time frame for the
publication of two of the three reports it is preparing.
The Commission remains committed to completing its investigations within
the three year time-frame provided in the Terms of Reference. All Reports
will now be completed by February 2018. The Minister for Children and Youth
Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone says the extension will not delay any
Government response to the findings of the Commission.
The extension is to accommodate the large number of witnesses coming
forward and to ensure that all new information discovered is accurately
recorded to give a full understanding of the social history involved.
As the Interim Report being published today (see Note to Editors) focuses
exclusively on the request for the extension of time, the Government has
asked the Commission to identify any additional matters outside of its
scope which may be critical to reaching conclusions on the matters central
to its remit and report back by September.
Announcing the Government decision the Minister for Children and Youth
Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone said:
“Following today’s Government decision I am publishing by way of Interim
Report the reasoning behind the request from the Mother and Baby Homes
Commission for an extended time frame for the publication of two reports,
namely the Report of the Confidential Committee on witness hearings and the
Report of the Academic Social History.
The case put forward for the extension was convincing. The Commission
points out that the number of confidential hearings with witnesses is
expected to reach 500 with 150 witnesses already meeting with the
Confidential Committee to date.
The Commission has also identified a large volume of new information which
is relevant to the Social History Report.
Allowing the additional time requested to conclude this research will
significantly enhance our understanding of how society treated vulnerable
mothers and children in these homes, and how attitudes, policy and
legislation changed over the period.
I accept that the extension will cause disappointment, and I have asked
that representative groups are fully informed not just about the decision
but the background on which it was made. I will make arrangements to meet
representative groups in September”.
Ends//
Notes to Editors:
1. The Interim Report of the Commission of Investigation (Mother and
Baby Homes and certain related Matters) dated 12 July 2016.
2. Frequently Asked Questions - Government approves additional time for
the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to complete the
Confidential Committee and Social History Reports.
3. The Terms of Reference for the Commission of Investigation (Mother
and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) are available as a Schedule to
Statutory Instrument No. 57 of 2015.
4. Other related information/documentation.
The Commission can be contacted by writing to;
Commission of Investigation
No 73, Lower Baggot Street
Dublin 2
Website: www.mbhcoi.ie
Email: info@mbhcoi.ie
Confidential Freephone (R.O.I. only) Tel: +1800 80 66 88 (Open 10am-1pm and
2pm-4.30pm Monday to Friday). To make a confidential call to the Commission
from outside of the Republic of Ireland, the number to dial is 00 353 1
6445088