Government and Opposition parties have called for representatives of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission to "clarify" its treatment of the personal accounts of survivors in its final report by coming before an Oireachtas committee.
Yesterday, a member of the Commission suggested at an Oxford University seminar that threats of legal action had resulted in the testimony of survivors being excluded from the final report, published earlier this year.
This afternoon, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Roderic O'Gorman said the members of the Commission need to "urgently clarify" its treatment of the personal accounts of survivors of the homes.
Professor Mary Daly spoke to an online Oxford seminar in Irish History yesterday, and said the Commission was limited in what it could do due to the terms of reference it had to operate under.
She confirmed that the evidence provided by 550 survivors to the confidential committee was discounted, saying that the report "reads as realistic".
She argued that the main report of the commission had to meet robust legal standards of evidence.
There were 550 testimonies to the confidential committee and 19 in front of the commission.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Minister O'Gorman said clarification would help to address the anger and uncertainty felt by survivors, adding it was not appropriate for the first public comments on the report to be made to a restricted academic event.
He said that "it is necessary at this point for them to come before the Oireachtas committee".
Mr O'Gorman also said it was not appropriate that survivors would hear through second hand reports from an academic event about how their personal accounts were treated, as this has always been an issue of concern for them.
He said given this upset and the fact the commissioners have been deeply involved in this matter for five years he is hopeful and inviting them to "act in a compassionate way" and explain and clarify the reasons the testimonies were excluded from the final report.
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More on Mother-and-Baby Homes
Mother-and-baby home testimony process a 'waste of time'
The minister said that the commission's terms of reference were "quite clear that the material...from personal accounts could be taken into account by commissioners to the extent that they believed was appropriate".
He said he has always said "that it is that chapter [containing personal accounts] for me that stands out the most and is the most powerful indictment of what was happening in these institutions".
He said this is why it is so important that these key points are explored and clarified in an "appropriate place like the Oireachtas committee".
Minister O'Gorman also said a redress scheme for survivors of mother-and-baby homes will be put in place in the coming week.
He said the approach that Commissions of Investigation take to sensitive issues should make "the voice and views of the survivors absolutely central" and this is the way these commissions should take place in the future.
Minister O'Gorman said the Government is committed to providing a Records and Memorialisation Centre and will progress with birth information and tracing legislation.
He said people can access their own files and 170 applications have already been made for information.
Speaking on the same programme, the chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Children said she was "absolutely shocked" over yesterday's events.
Kathleen Funchion said the decision by a commission member to speak about the report was "extremely disrespectful and insulting to survivors".
She said Prof Daly "chose to speak at a forum about a report that was about their lives and yet she refused to come before the committee or engage in a public forum with survivors".
Ms Funchion said that without key questions being answered or amended in some way the report of the Commission cannot be stood over in its current form and the committee members all feel very strongly about the issue and that their invitation to appear before the committee was "snubbed".
In February, Commission chair Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy declined to appear before the committee where members had hoped to ask her about the methodology of the report, some of the language used in it and claims that some of its conclusions contradicted evidence given by survivors.
Independent TD for Galway West Catherine Connolly has added to strong criticism from cabinet members, opposition leaders, and survivors following reports by Professor Mary Daly that testimonies from hundreds of women were excluded from the final report into the Mother and Baby Homes due to threats of legal action.
"It is extraordinary that one of the commissioners chose to talk about this, to a college, a privileged one, in this manner but yet all three commissioners refused to come before an Oireachtas Committee. That was the choice that was made."
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime Deputy Connolly called for Prof Mary Daly to explain the nature of the alleged threats that were made to the commission, and in what manner these alleged threats were conveyed.
She also called for all correspondence between the government and the commission to be published.
"What contact was made with the government about these?"
Deputy Connolly said Prof Daly has been "helpful".
"She has highlighted that the commission came under extraordinary pressure."
"How was that done and how did it change the way they wrote the report?"
When asked if commissioners could be made to come before the committee, considering there is no legal obligation to do so, Independent TD Catherine Connolly said there is "a higher moral law" than a legal obligation.
She said those who appeared before the confidential committee expected to be heard and treated with dignity and respect, and that what they said would be taken into account.
That did not happen, she said, and there is the "mystery of the disappearing and reappering" recordings of the testimonies.
She said this was only clarified because of "serious pressure" within the Dáil and from the survivors themselves, and people are still facing "enormous obstacles" to get information.
"We need to reflect on where we're at", she said.
Seminar address on mother-and-baby homes 'disrespectful'
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said it was disrespectful to both the Oireachtas, and the survivors of mother-and-baby homes, for a member of the commission to speak about its report for the first time to an academic symposium.
Speaking during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil this afternoon, Mr Varadkar said it was necessary "without delay" for the commission members to come before the Oireachtas Committee on Children to explain how they arrived at their conclusions and have a "similar engagement" with survivor groups.
He said this has occurred previously with both the McAleese and Scally reports, adding: "I can see no excuse or no valid reason for them not to do so, without delay."
He was replying to Labour leader Alan Kelly, who said the "devastating revelations" from Prof Daly meant that the commission's report was "not valid; it is not a historical record; it is not accurate".
The Tipperary TD accused Prof Daly of retraumatising the survivors by her actions.
Labour leader @alankellylabour says survivors of mother-and-baby homes have been retraumatised by a commission member's contribution to a seminar in England. @LeoVaradkar says commission members should come before the Oireachtas, and speak to survivors | https://t.co/ZaaPrwmVd1 pic.twitter.com/fpBb0bnIcy
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 3, 2021
He said that she and other commission members had refused to come before committee, but was prepared to speak about the report at an academic symposium in England.
Deputy Kelly said the commission's report was "fundamentally flawed" and asked if the Government would repudiate the document as called for by some academics.
The Tánaiste said he wanted to be careful in his remarks as he knew "a lot of survivors are very upset" but said what happened "wasn't acceptable" and that was "compounded" by the academic seminar.
Mr Kelly said it was now clear that evidence "given by women who went through so much" was not used, did not form part of the commission's recommendations and therefore, he asked, was the Government going to put forward proposals for a new commission.
He said all of the survivors deserve it.
Mr Varadkar said the next step was for the commission to clarify how it used evidence from survivors.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Taoiseach has said "it would be very helpful, and the correct thing to do" for the members of the Mother and Baby Home Commission to engage with the Oireachtas and to "outline their perspectives on the inquiry".
They added that "survivors must be the number one priority".
The spokesperson also said: "The Government is committed to following through on the recommendations of the report, in particular with the Information Tracing Bill, the Memorial Centre, the protection of records and redress."
Mother and Baby Home Commission urged to address Oireachtas over report
The Minister for Further and Higher Education has called for the authors of the report to address the Oireachtas in relation to their findings.
Simon Harris said not giving the survivors of mother-and-baby homes, their families and communities, the opportunity to hear from them in public, unintentionally "added insult to injury".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said it would be helpful to have a dialogue and explain their findings as part of the healing process and the sharing of information.
Mr Harris said "people have every right to speak in Oxford, but if they can find the time to speak in Oxford I hope they can find the time to speak in the Oireachtas".
He said there may be "more work to do" and if you undertake to do a body of work "you should be willing to explain how you did that" in a public forum.
Legal academic and Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham Máiréad Enright, who attended the Oxford seminar, said the atmosphere was very testy at times.
Under the Commissions of Investigation Act, according to Ms Enright, the commission had the ability to make general non-individual finding of facts and therefore could accept all information made available to them.
She said that when she read the final report, which was published earlier this year, she questioned why that was not done and said she wondered if it was because those who went before the confidential committee did not speak under oath.
This was confirmed at yesterday's event, she said.
Reporting Ailbhe Conneely and Paul Cunningham
