2021-02-24 11:36:31 +0000
To: Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman
Extend the Lifetime of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission
The lifetime of the commission must be extended by at least 12 months and until it can be made to explain the conclusions it reached and clarify how disputed claims were published as evidence.
Why is this important?
Natural justice will not be served if the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby homes is allowed to close down with so many unanswered questions, not least about its own functioning and some of the conclusions in its report.
A legal enquiry that publishes conclusions and testimonies that are disputed by those who gave them and then destroys evidence cannot provide closure.
There are so many unanswered questions about the manner in which this commission was run and the way it reached its conclusions that it must be held to account.
This commission must not be added to the list of inquiries that have added insult to the injuries of survivors and helped mask the truth. Theatening that an extension will delay compensation for survivors is not germane. Survivors want the truth. We ALL want the truth.
A legal enquiry that publishes conclusions and testimonies that are disputed by those who gave them and then destroys evidence cannot provide closure.
There are so many unanswered questions about the manner in which this commission was run and the way it reached its conclusions that it must be held to account.
This commission must not be added to the list of inquiries that have added insult to the injuries of survivors and helped mask the truth. Theatening that an extension will delay compensation for survivors is not germane. Survivors want the truth. We ALL want the truth.