Members of the Collaborative Forum of Survivors of Mother and Baby, County and Bethany Homes have expressed deep disappointment at the lack of consultation by the Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman regarding the recent legislation which passed through the Oireachtas on the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.
While they have acknowledged Minister O'Gorman's apology for neither meeting or consulting the forum or any other survivor or adopted people’s groups since taking office in June 2020, members have described the recent "U-turn" by the Government on adopted people’s and survivors’ rights to their own personal data as occurring in "a communications vacuum".
The forum, which was established in 2018 by the previous Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone said: "We have argued against the Attorneys’ General and Tusla’s interpretation of Data Protection and GDPR legislation since the Forum’s inception in July 2018.
"In December 2018, we ensured that members of Tusla senior management came to the Forum to explain their blanket refusal on the release of personal data to applicants. Their answers on that date and in a subsequent letter of April 11th, 2019 were incomplete, misleading and as we now know factually incorrect."
The statement said that members challenged the "incorrect opinions" throughout 2018 and 2019 but were denied sight of the Government’s legal advice.
"The majority of Collaborative Forum members feel that trust has completely broken down with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs officials and ultimately with the new Minister, Roderic O’Gorman, who rather than consult with us from first taking office and particularly during October, has to date, only instructed his officials to point us to his Twitter account to understand his thinking."
The forum wants urgent clarification to ensure survivors and adopted people will have unfettered access to their data immediately and it is seeking a full disclosure of Tusla, the HSE and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on providing access to survivors’ and adopted people’s personal data.
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Other requests include assurances that the forum will be given sufficient time to digest the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes prior to its release publicly.
It has called for a dedicated meeting to allow legal experts explain the flaws in the current legal advice on which Tusla, the HSE and the Department rely upon which the forum says denies survivors and adopted people their personal information.
It has called for assurances that adopted people's and survivors’ voices will be heard regarding the creation of Adoption Information legislation and wants the Minister to commit to having a Transitional Justice model for Ireland at the centre of all discussions, consultations with the forum
It has also sought a progress report on or the ideas behind the creation of a National Archive on Institutional Trauma during the 20th Century as referenced in the Taoiseach’s statement last week.
The statement points out that there is in excess of 400 years’ worth of "knowledge and expertise of institutions that punished and continue to punish natural mothers and their now adult children".
"We have already demonstrated our commitment to achieving justice for and to record the experiences of those so brutally treated by the state, its agents and current agencies; we merely ask Minister O’Gorman to do the same," the forum said.
