Mother & Baby home report slammed as 'not fair, truthful or accurate'
The revelation that a member of the Commission behind the report appeared at an Oxford symposium on Wednesday having refused to appear before the Oireachtas was slammed by Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Labour leader Alan Kelly. Photo: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie
The recently published Mother and Baby Home report should be repudiated as it is not accurate or valid, the Dáil has heard.
The revelation that a member of the Commission behind the report appeared at an Oxford symposium on Wednesday having refused to appear before the Oireachtas was slammed by Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Labour leader Alan Kelly.
Mr Kelly said that following the revelation that the private testimony of hundreds of survivors was ignored by Commission, the report must be set aside and a new Commission must be established.
“Tánaiste, do you accept now that based on what we now know, it's very clear that this report needs to be repudiated? We cannot accept this report. It is not fair. It is not fully truthful. There is not a historical record is not accurate,” Mr Kelly said.
The stories that were told confidentially by women who went through such suffering, such a stain on our society, in our country, that they weren't taken on board. This is not acceptable, Mr Kelly said.
Mr Varadkar said what happened since the report was not acceptable.
“I think what happened after that wasn't acceptable. Essentially the report was left on our desks. Government members or office members alike, and the commission members did not engage with the rafters and did not engage with the survivors, either to explain the report to tell us how they came to the findings they did, or to answer any questions. And I think that was not the correct course of action on the part of the committee members, or the commission members,” he said.
"That has now been compounded by the fact that one of the commission members felt it appropriate to do exactly that in an academic seminar. And I think that was disrespectful to the Oireachtas. I think it was disrespectful in particular to the survivors and their advocates, and I think it is now necessary for the commission members to come before the committee, as they've been asked to do, they should do without delay,” Mr Varadkar said.
“And given that this academic symposium happened the other day, I can see no excuse now, and certainly no valid reason for the commission members not to be willing to do that. And to do that without delay,” the Tánaiste said.
Mr Kelly said he welcomed the Tánaiste’s comments, saying they went further than Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Wednesday.
He said calling on the commission members to appear in front of the children's committee is something that absolutely should happen.
Mr Kelly said given the evidence at the symposium yesterday, this report is fundamentally flawed.
In response, Mr Varadkar said if the commission discounted the evidence of the women entirely, then that is a serious problem, and that does question the validity of the report in his view.
Commission members must speak to the Oireachtas to explain the report and its findings, he added.
The work of Conall Ó Fátharta, a former journalist, was highlighted in the Dáil and TDs were told by Mr Kelly that questions he asked were not answered.
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