Sir, – It is a welcome development that the Government finally acknowledged in the High Court on Friday last that eight former survivors of mother and baby homes were denied fair procedures and their rights were breached by the statutory Commission of Investigation's failure to provide them with a draft copy of its report for their submissions on it prior to its finalisation and publication (News, December 17th). As they were readily identifiable and gave evidence to the commission this failure should not have occurred. It also should not have required expensive and distressing High Court proceedings for this to be acknowledged and addressed by the Government.
It is also welcome that the necessary corrective action is now being taken by the publication alongside the report on the Government’s website and the depositing in the Oireachtas library of the agreed court declaration made together with details of content contained in the report which the survivors assert does not accurately reflect their testimony.
There is a need for a radical change in the approach of government, the Attorney General’s office and the State to issues of this nature. Where an investigation or inquiry at the request of Government is to be conducted on a statutory or non-statutory basis it is crucial that the person or persons engaged fully understand the need for fair procedures and to respect an individuals constitutional and statutory rights. It is also crucial that where error occurs and fair procedures are denied, that claim is not automatically rejected by Government and the indefensible is wrongly defended.
Initially Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman, the Government, the Attorney General and the State denied the women’s claims. Had they not taken court proceedings, their justified concerns would have been ignored. Such proceedings should not have been necessary so soon after the Supreme Court, at the end of my five-year court battle over the Guerin Report, in February 2019, addressed the issue of fair procedures and in the context of a provision contained in the Commission of Investigation Act which required that the women concerned be furnished with a copy of the draft report.
There is a need for greater understanding of the debilitating personal impact of being wronged and having to thereafter take on the power and resources of the State through the courts. Justice demands a more considered approach by Government. – Yours, etc,
ALAN SHATTER,
Dublin 16.