Alternative mother and baby report ‘will influence official redress scheme’
Minister to consider f indings of academics
THE long-awaited redress scheme for survivors of Mother and Baby homes will be influenced by a new draft report published this week, say Government insiders.
The report was compiled by 25 academics who grouped together to write an alternative ‘Executive Summary’ to the controversial Mother and Baby Homes Commission Report published in January.
Their findings are vastly different to that of the official State report.
They found there was ‘ample evidence’ of forced adoptions, brutal treatment of women and children and relatives not being given access to burial records.
A source close to Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman said this weekend the report had ‘been noted and would influence the redress scheme’, expected to be announced next year.
The source told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘This is something he’s very aware of. He knows a lot of people, especially survivors, think this is the report the State should have delivered in the first place. I don’t think there’s any doubt this will influence the redress scheme.’
The new executive summary report was coordinated by the England-based academic, Mairéad Enright, of the Law school at the University of Birmingham. It is a draft report and has been sent to survivors for their further input.
Ms Enright says the project was undertaken to explore whether the State Commission could have come to different findings, using the evidence available to it while remaining within the law.
‘The project authors conclude that the commission had sufficient evidence before it to find multiple abuses of key human rights provisions,’ she said.
The official commission’s final report, published to much criticism in January, detailed the experiences of women and children who lived in 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes between 1922 and 1998. It confirmed that about 9,000 children died in the 18 homes under investigation.
However, it said it ‘found little evidence’ of issues such as forced adoption, abuse and involuntary detention.
Examining the original evidence presented to the commission by survivors, the new report found ‘widespread evidence of abusive adoptive practices’.
The report has been welcomed by the Tuam Mother and Babies Home Alliance.
Breeda Murphy of the alliance told the MoS: ‘Mairéad, together with 24 academics skilled on Irish constitutional law, human rights and transitional justice protocols provide the discourse that is much needed within circles where it matters.
‘The interdepartmental committee charged with developing a redress scheme is not survivor-led, which is an obvious failing. We experienced the fallout from the... commission’s report – had survivors and families affected by the many injustices been involved from the outset, we
‘Redress committee is not survivor-led’
would have received a more comprehensive document. Instead, those who invested in the process testifying to the committee were discounted.’
A spokesperson for Mr O’Gorman said he ‘welcomed this engagement with the final report’, adding: ‘A plurality of voices and analyses makes for a stronger understanding of our shared history. That is why the Government is committed to supporting research, scholarship and access to records as part of its response to the commission’s report.’
Mr O’Gorman sent correspondence to survivors on Thursday detailing plans to provide them with regular updates on the redress scheme and other issues.
Survivors, most of whom are elderly, had previously complained of being frequently left in the dark by the department.
In a statement, the minister said: ‘It is my intention to provide a regular quarterly bulletin to all survivors and advocacy groups who have provided their contact details to my department.
‘This bulletin will also be published on our website and accessible to all. This will enable me to keep you informed, on a consistent and regular basis, of the progress being made in delivering on the Government’s commitments.’