Press release
Government approves proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
The government has today (29 March 2022) approved high-level proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance. The National Centre, to be located on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry in Sean MacDermott St in Dublin city centre, will stand as a National Memorial to honour all those who were resident in Mother and Baby Homes, Industrial Schools, Reformatories, Magdalen Laundries and related institutions.
As a site of national conscience, the National Centre for Research and Remembrance will comprise:
a) a museum and exhibition space, the development of which will be led by the National Museum of Ireland
b) a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century which will form part of the National Archives, and
c) a place for reflection and remembrance
Contributing to the social and economic development of Dublin’s North East Inner City, the site will also encompass:
d) social housing and local community facilities, and
e) an educational and early learning facility.
While physically situated in Dublin, the National Centre will be accessible for all survivors, whether in other parts of Ireland or abroad. It will provide digital access to records and exhibits, as well as developing physical presences elsewhere to enable survivors to visit more easily. In this way, the Centre will be a national institution which achieves both a global reach and strong connections to, and benefits for, the local community.
One unique aspect of the central repository will be the inclusion of the personal testimonies of survivors; allowing the lived experiences of survivors to be formally accepted as part of the official record. Recognising the sensitivity of this work and the importance of respecting data protection and privacy rights, the processes for preserving and accessing records will be progressed in conjunction with survivors and relevant experts, and will be supported by legal analysis and legislation.
The proposals for the National Centre were developed by the Secretary General to the government, following informal consultation with key advocates and stakeholders, and were brought to Government jointly by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
In approving the proposals, the government also approved the next steps which will involve formal consultation with survivor representatives and local community representatives, and the establishment of a Steering Group chaired by the current Secretary General to the government, who will continue to chair this Group following the end of his term. While the next phase of work will involve the creation of comprehensive plans setting out detailed timeframes and cost estimates, it is nonetheless clear that the National Centre will be a major, multi-annual project, spanning a number of years.
The approved proposals respond to Actions 7 and 15 of the Government Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions which jointly commit to the development of a National Memorial and Records Centre. The initiative is important, in not only delivering on relevant recommendations of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, but also fulfilling the commitments to a national memorial for survivors of Magdalen laundries and survivors of Industrial Schools and reformatories.
Following government approval, Minister O’Gorman said:
“Today’s announcement on the establishment of a National Centre for Research and Remembrance advances a core commitment in the State’s response to the legacy of institutional trauma. Over the past three decades, Ireland has had a difficult reckoning with its history of institutional abuse. This Centre will provide a place of reflection and remembrance, while also ensuring that future generations can fully understand the appalling impact of those institutions.
"I believe this project will make a significant contribution in our journey of recognising and learning from the failures of the past and acknowledging the hurt which continues to be felt by survivors and their families. By creating a National Centre for Research and Remembrance, the State recognises the role of memorialisation in working to rebuild a relationship of trust and support healing for those who were so profoundly wronged. As a site of national conscience, it is my hope that this Centre will offer an enduring reminder of the importance of striving continually to build and promote a progressive, respectful and equal society.”
Welcoming the high-level proposals for the National Centre for Research and Remembrance, the government also noted the progress made in the first three months of the year in advancing key initiatives in the published Action Plan. In particular, there has been significant progress on the legislative programme to be delivered as part of the Action Plan. In January, Minister O’Gorman published the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022. This landmark legislation, which provides guaranteed access in all cases to un-redacted birth certificates and identity information, is currently making its ways through the Houses of the Oireachtas, completing Committee Stage in the Dáil earlier this month. In February, Minister O’Gorman published the Institutional Burials Bill 2022 which aims to restore dignity to the children buried at Tuam. This Bill has just completed Second Stage in the Dáil and, like the Birth Information and Tracing Bill, is being progressed as a priority. This week the Minister will publish the Heads of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill which will provide for financial payments and an enhanced medical card in acknowledgement of suffering experienced while resident in Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. In terms of the estimated number of beneficiaries, the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is the largest scheme of its type in the history of the State. An estimated 34,000 survivors will be eligible for the financial payment, with an estimated total Scheme cost of €800 million.
The Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters was published on 12 January 2021. In responding to the report, the government published a comprehensive Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions spanning eight themes, as follows:
The Action Plan provides a framework for collaboration across Government, State agencies, and broader society to implement the suite of 22 agreed measures across the eight themes. For each action, the plan identifies milestones and timelines, and sets out progress to date and next steps. It also sets out an overarching vision, mission and values, as well as governance and monitoring processes to oversee progress.
Actions 7 and 15 of the Government Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions which jointly commit to the development of a National Memorial and Records Centre.
Action 7 states that “the government will work to establish, on a formal national basis, a national memorial and records centre related to institutional trauma during the 20th century. This will build on the commitment to a central repository of institutional records and will include archiving relevant records and witness testimony by victims and survivors as well as presenting the historical and social context. It will be developed at a suitable site and operated in accordance with the highest international standards. It will be designed in cooperation with professional archivists and historians, as well as with victims, survivors and their advocates. There will be strong engagement with survivors so that there is clarity on how information will be presented and reassurance regarding the protection of survivors’ private information. In order to progress this commitment, officials will undertake a rapid scoping exercise and, following this, Government will appoint a wide-ranging, cross sectoral group comprising experts and survivors to examine and recommend to Government the most appropriate means of developing and maintaining a national centre.”
As an important element of Action 7, sub-action 7.4 commits to a Survivor Accounts Initiative. This is a “Process established for capturing survivor accounts for publication and for archiving for posterity in the National Memorial and Records Centre”. Important scoping work on the development of this Survivor Accounts Initiative is already well underway.
Action 15 states that: “We will develop an all-Ireland memorial in consultation with former residents and other key stakeholders.”
The project to create the National Centre will be driven by an overall Steering Group, chaired by the Secretary General to the government, with a number of working groups including technical and survivor reference groups. The project structures will be supported by a dedicated Programme Manager based in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
While initial scoping work has been completed, a comprehensive project plan with timeframes and detailed cost estimates will be prepared during Phase 1 of the project. The project will be a multi-annual one, spanning a number of years.
In advance of the creation of the National Centre, the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 (Action 4 in the Government Action Plan), which is currently making its way through the Oireachtas, will provide a preliminary legal basis for the safeguarding of adoption and related birth and early life records. It also creates offences for the concealment, mutilation, destruction or falsifying of records. This will ensure that records relevant to the creation of a centralised archive are safeguarded once this legislation is enacted.
In addition, in accordance with Action 8 of the Government Action Plan, work is already underway between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Health and the National Archives in ensuring that relevant original files are made publicly available in the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) in accordance with the terms of the National Archives Act 1986.