Health bosses deny Amnesty claim that probe into abuse is ‘shambolic’

Department of Health has rejected claims from Amnesty International that a Stormont probe into clerical abuse and mother and baby homes is shambolic.

The investigation was launched in February 2016.

Norah Gibbons stepped down as chair of the probe in March last year due to ill health.

Amnesty said that a series of Freedom of Information requests had exposed “a catalogue of failures” with the investigation.

Complaints included the in- quiry having never met with victims; not holding a meeting since last January; being without a chairperson for almost a year, and not commissioning any research into clerical abuse.

The Department of Health rejected the criticism.

But it accepted that progress had been “slower than it would have liked”.

It said the investigation had been delayed by the resignation of Mrs Gibbons as chair of the interdepartmental working group.

Meanwhile, research into the operation of mother and baby homes is currently being conducted by Queen’s University Belfast and the Ulster University.

“With the agreement of the working group, a key element of the research is accessing the accounts of those with experience of mother and baby homes,” the department said.

“Both universities have engaged in awareness-raising through the local media to encourage individuals to come forward to inform the research.

“The permanent secretary of the Department of Health has also written to known custodians of historic records to ask for their full cooperation with the research. In the main, this has been met with a very positive response.”

It added that a meeting between the interdepartmental working group and a group representing mothers and babies who were former residents of the homes had to be cancelled due to the resignation of the independent chair, and that further meetings were declined by the group.

However, meetings have taken place with political representatives acting on the residents’ behalf.

Representatives have also met with the permanent secretary of the Department of Health Richard Pengelly.

The department said that interviews to appoint a new indeTHE pendent chair would take place “imminently” and that the process was difficult to undertake in the absence of a Stormont Assembly.

It was only after new legislative powers were handed to civil servants by Secretary of State Karen Bradley that the appointment process could begin.

The department rejected claims that a report could be delayed and said it was due in June 2019.

“The report will be presented to and considered by the interdepartmental working group and will inform future recommendations to ministers,” the Department of Health added.