Refusal of baby homes commission trio not to appear at committee 'deeply regrettable' – Varadkar
The three members of the now-defunct Mother and Baby Homes Commission have written to the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Disability, snubbing its request for them to appear before them. Picture: Andy Newman
The decision of members of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation not to appear before an Oireachtas committee is “deeply regrettable” and should be reconsidered, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said.
“I had genuinely hoped they would agree and that a date would have been set by this stage. I would urge them to reconsider their decision, and to appreciate the imperative to explain their report and answer questions.
"The commissioners are best placed to answer how they reached their findings. It is long overdue at this point," he said.
“This is deeply regrettable,” Mr Varadkar said in a statement.
The head of the now-defunct commission, Yvonne Murphy, wrote to the chair of the Oireachtas Children's Committee, Kathleen Funchion, on Friday, snubbing the invitation to appear.
The refusal has been met with fury and anger from TDs and lawyers acting on behalf of the victims.
Ms Funchion, a Sinn Féin TD, said she is "deeply concerned" at the decision to refuse to come before her and her colleagues.
As a result, she said the report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission cannot stand and must be repudiated.
She warned that the commissioners have treated survivors with "absolute contempt".
She said it is not unreasonable for survivors to get answers to questions they have about a report which has such profound implications for their lives.
“I was shocked to hear through media reports this afternoon that this invitation has been declined," Ms Funchion said.
"By declining my invitation, the commissioners are missing an opportunity to be open, transparent and answer questions survivors have about the processes used in their report.
"I believe that such a step would have been to the benefit for all involved. I am deeply concerned that the commissioners decided to convey this information through a leak to the media, rather than informing the committee and survivors," she said.
Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman said the decision of the former commission members not to attend the committee is disappointing, and he would urge them to reconsider.
"While acknowledging their statement that they did not 'discount' the testimony before the confidential committee, attendance before the joint Oireachtas committee would have offered a further opportunity to clarify recently generated uncertainty, along with deeper questions regarding how the information contained in the confidential committee testimonies contributed to the general findings of the commission’s report," Mr O'Gorman said on Friday.
He said the Government is conscious of the need to ensure that the lived experiences of the 550 who attended before the confidential committee are clearly heard and understood as part of our history.
"I have stated that I believe survivors, and this belief must be demonstrated. Therefore, I will work to bring proposals to Cabinet on how the experiences of those who gave evidence before the Confidential Committee can be recognised and officially reflected. I will engage with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on this point," Mr O'Gorman said.
The Government will continue to work to provide redress for survivors, deliver the Birth Information and Tracing legislation, a national records and memorialisation centre and all other commitments made following the publication of the commission report, Mr O'Gorman added.
Controversy arose in recent days after one member of the commission, Professor Mary Daly, appeared at an academic conference in the UK and admitted the private testimony of hundreds of women was disregarded.
According to their letter, commissions of investigation are required to be independent and “do not follow a popular or political narrative or agenda” and seek “to establish the truth as best it can”.
They have argued that the report’s findings, and the commission’s interim reports could be “put in peril by an appearance before some of the committee’s members whose rush to judgment without due process, is already a matter of record”.
“The work of the commission is reflected in its final report and its interim reports and not by commentators who seek to sweep aside its findings, the members stated in a letter to the chair of the Oireachtas children’s committee, Sinn Féin TD Kathleen Funchion.
“While the Confidential Committee was separately constituted, its report is an important element of the commission’s final report. It is not true to say that the testimonies of the women were ‘discounted’ or ‘discarded’ by the commission. Professor Daly did not say this. Others did,” the letter states.
The letter adds: “The accounts given were very much taken into account by the Commission. They were relied upon to the extent that the Commission considered appropriate having regard to the totality of the evidence gathered by the Commission and before making its findings.
“Those accounts were also reported in a manner that preserved confidentiality in the lengthy confidential committee report which was, as directed, ‘of a general nature'.”
The long-awaited Mother and Baby Homes Commission report was published and was met by widespread criticism and Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman was also criticised for winding up the commission before TDs and senators could engage with them.
Members of the Children's Committee, speaking privately have said they are “livid” and “outraged” at the snub to its request.
Dr Maeve O’Rourke, barrister and law lecturer, hit out at the decision.
She said the lack of respect for survivors’ and adopted people’s fair procedures rights, and their rights to their good name, to freedom of expression, to their personal data, and to participate into an inquiry about them was evident from the earliest days of this commission.
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