Mother and babies homes information sealed for 30 years

Yes, they were in those homes because they were pregnant and needed help. The sad truth is that their last refuge turned out to be anything but helpful. By all accounts, many never told their families because of the stigma attached to being pregnant and unmarried, and that stigma of shame was still around until relatively recently.

How awful for those mothers to be abandoned by partners or families and then to be treated as sinners by the church who was supposed to be all forgiving and compassionate and would care for them in their hour of need. Well they were certainly let down there too.

The same church then went on to sell or give their children to others that the church deemed more suitable parents because they had a paper to say they were married. I've read that single mothers were told their child would have a better life with two parents but can't remember ever reading any reports of children being taken from widows, so that was just a rubbish excuse to validate what they were doing.

The church/nuns either sold those babies abroad or were the agencies involved in arranging adoptions so they, and the state, were wholly responsible for what happened to those mothers and their children.

It was all about the church's stance on morality and the image of holy catholic ireland. Unmarried women having babies and keeping them?? No, not allowed, we know best, give their babies to morally superior catholics who obey the rules, that'll teach them.

What the church and state did to those mothers who had their children taken is so horrific, that I cant even begin to understand how they coped with the trauma. How they managed to rebuild their lives and go on to live relatively normal lives without any counselling or support, speaks volumes about their courage, resilience and strength of character.

The fact that our government is still treating them so badly by refusing to provide information or assistance to find out what happened their children is a disgrace. It is also unbelievable that those children who were adopted or sold cant find their personal information about heritage and biological families, a basic human right. It makes me ashamed that this is still being done in my name as an Irish citizen. Sickening.

It's about time and hopefully the people and families affected by what happened in Tuam, Bessborough and other institutions will get information and answers although it is too late for many senior citizens who have passed on.

TBH, i will be surprised if they find remains of 800 babies in Tuam or Bessborough, imo many of those children were sent abroad. The organisations, and a lot of powerful individuals connected to running those centres around the country, were not bothered by forged birth registrations, so its not hard to believe they would falsify death registrations too.

Hopefully the Dept of FA will also be involved in the investigations so there can be cross referencing of all passports and travel documents issued for children from those centres. The immigration authorities and the church hierarchy in the USA or any other country, should be obligated to co-operate in tracing children sent out of Ireland by the nuns.

Frank Brehany

MAKES A FINAL BID TO BRING CHANGE TO THE BIRTH INFORMATION & TRACING BILL 2022

The Members of SALI appeal to the Irish Senate!

*The Irish Senate can introduce important changes to the Birth Information & Tracing Bill through their "cream list" amendments process - we call on them to make those changes*

SALI, the Separation, Appropriation & Loss Initiative, has provided commentary on the Birth Information and Tracing Bill (BITB), since it was first published by Minister O’Gorman. The latest version of the BITB was offered as a compromise to the many voices of concern that had been raised against its provisions.

SALI has noted the Minister’s intent on forcing through a number of provisions, following the publication of the Commission of Investigation’s report into Mother and Baby Homes. This is being done with the apparent aim of bringing about resolution to a number of injustices to the Women and Children, who had suffered within these Institutions. The government’s ambitious timetable has left little time for discussion, analysis and change. Indeed, SALI has noted how many valuable amendments offered by campaigners and TD’s have been rejected; unless changes are made, it is the opinion of SALI that the BITB will create serious imbalances and bring about further challenges in the courts.

To that end, SALI has noted that as the BITB is now entering its final stage of scrutiny, there still remains the possibility that valuable changes to the proposed legislation could be made by Senators, utilising the “cream list” method of importing important clause changes. SALI has already written to all Senators in the Oireachtas, enclosing their copy of their suggested changes to the Bill. Such changes include:

The Language & Opening Statement of the BITB;

Substantial changes to Part 2 of the Bill;

Comment on the limiting methodology of the BITB;

The requirement to remove the need for formal Information Sessions;

Warnings about the nature & essence of historical ‘informed consent’;

Examination of the GDPR and the Relevant Body;

The current failure of the Stakeholder Advisory Group;

The requirement to extend the rights of the entire family line;

The absolute necessity of taking possession of Church & Religious Records and the failure of the current clause;

The fundamental error & failure to recognise and deal with the obvious cross-border issues, and

Further commentary on the recent O’Mahoney recommendations

It is SALI’s opinion, that the Irish government has some way to go if it intends to deliver on the Rights of those who were subject to adoptions and/or illegal adoptions.

Breeda Murphy states:

"Heritage and family connection matters quite a lot in Ireland. Imagine growing up not knowing your clan, to whom you belong. That is the lived and living experience for many of our Irish citizens. It is not due to the fact that records do not exist, but from a concentrated effort by both State and Church to conceal identities from adults, who wish to find their birth family. The reasons for withholding such evidence are unclear but ownership is power and in this case that power is exerted in a most cruel fashion”.

She adds:

"My relative who will be 89 in May of this year, had his details, birth date and surname changed and so it would have been virtually impossible to find him via documentary sources alone even if the State allowed that. DNA technologies unlocked the puzzle of his birth and early life, and records were held within the Council, the hospital and Church where he was baptised, but were unavailable from the Religious Order that ran the Orphanage where he was placed. It took fourteen months of painstaking genealogy based research, with the help of extended family trees here and overseas to provide David with his true identity and a heritage that we can trace back hundreds of years”.

She concludes:

"This legislation must acknowledge the State’s duty of care to its Citizens without distinction. It is a ‘processor’ of information pertaining to adoption, fostering of boarded out children and must allow unfettered access on request, to enable family reunification within a clear supportive framework, in acknowledgment and recognition of human rights applicable. We have the opportunity now to right an injustice, let us ensure the Bill enables rather than restricts those seeking birth and early life documentation and information”.

Eunan Duffy states:

“Closed, illegal and forced adoptions are still in operation in parts of this modern world, even in the misnomered "civilised" world. Adoption and other 'care' arrangements have been used predominantly within a inter-country and domestic trafficking system to satisfy the needs of others over the best interests and needs of the child too often, and this system can be likened to a 'witness protection program' where a new identity is created at the expense of a personal and familial history, heritage, culture, bio-physiology”.

He adds:

“Withholding the truth and identity, concealing illegal and criminal activity yet pervades society as facilitators and profiteers remain at large in their malignant complicity”.

He concludes:

“This BITB compounds the removal of autonomy, agency, integrity and human rights afforded to the non-adopted and falls way short of internationally-recognised and inherent human and moral rights. Access to records that restore truth and provenance, genesis and humanity should not be debatable nor denied to any individual. Shared and mixed information is owned, relevant and entitled to each person when it affects the very being and existence of each person. Secrecy, privacy, truth and disclosure must be considered on a case-by-case basis with no arbitrary ultimate veto afforded to the mother nor adopted person. Skilled and best-informed practitioners who must now take a 'maximalist-disclosure' approach must be the only way forward. Knowing what we know, being who we are, living the truth of where we come from and making personal choices based on our information is the basic right of all”.

Frank Brehany states:

“It was disappointing at the Committee stage to witness the failure to adopt and perhaps consider the value of the many amendments that were offered. I can truly understand the desire for any Minister to bring about the necessary change in any given area, but the speed at which the processes stemming from the Mother and Baby Home report, will I fear present further difficulties down the road if government doesn’t take the time to carefully consider the serious issues before them. I am proud to be the co-author of the SALU report on the BITB and sincerely hope that Irish Senators will give good consideration to these important issues and develop a “cream list” of amendments. If they do so, they will send a powerful message to government, that getting it right now, not only delivers Justice for the many adoptees, but will also ensure that less legal risks will present themselves for future governments”

http://www.frankbrehany.com/media/1200/sali-report-bitb-2022-17322-final.pdf

The Separation, Appropriation & Loss Initiative: An Scaradh, Toiliú agus Cailleadh Tionscnamh

Injustice | Recognition | Restoration |Accountability

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Commentary on the Birth Information and Tracing Bill, 2022. An examination, analysis and recommendations

Authors: Breeda Murphy, Eunan Duffy & Frank Brehany