IRELAND HAS GRAPPLED with its difficult past for many years, and part of this process is often the publication of a report which places what happened under the microscope.

The Cloyne Report and Murphy Report are just two of these watershed tomes, and another is on the way in the coming months.

The government has received a copy of the findings from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, but it has already attracted significant controversy before it has even come near to being published, as fears were sparked among survivor and campaign groups that the records would be sealed for 30 years.

There has been a significant back-and-forth on this, filled with legalese and conflicting statements, as well as some very powerful testimony from those with direct experience of mother and baby homes being read in the Dáil record.

To set the record straight on what happened, and what will happen over the coming months, Sinéad O’Carroll is joined this by our reporter Órla Ryan, co-director of the Clann Project and NUI Galway lecturer in human rights Dr Maeve O’Rourke, as well as solicitor and director of Data Compliance Europe Simon McGarr.

We look at what exactly a mother and baby home was, what the commission was investigating, how this spiraled into a controversy as well as what exactly the GDPR says about access to records like these.

Background reading:

• Dr Maeve O’Rourke: Here’s a full analysis of the problems with the Government’s Mother and Baby Homes Bill
• Q&A: Why was the Commission into Mother and Baby Homes set up and what did it examine?
• ‘Two tests’ to be applied for Mother and Baby Home survivors to seek access to records
• Concerns raised for survivors ‘torn apart’ by ‘omnishambles’ of mother and baby home legislation
• Minister ‘determined’ State does right by mother and baby home survivors
• Q&A: What is the mother and baby home legislation passed in the Oireachtas?
• Taoiseach not anticipating ‘obstacles or barriers’ to publishing Mother and Baby Home report
• Dozens protest outside Áras an Uachtaráin over Mother and Baby Homes Bill

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/in-depth-what-exactly-happened-with-the-mother-and-baby-home-legislation/s-Bbn75CBXG54

This episode was put together by presenter Sinéad O’Carroll, producer Aoife Barry, producer and technical operator Nicky Ryan, and executive producer Christine Bohan.