Rights of eight mother and baby home survivors breached over report, State says

The State has acknowledged in the High Court that the rights of eight former residents of mother and baby homes were breached by the failure to provide them with a draft copy of the report by the Commission of Investigation into the homes prior to its publication.

The court had heard the actions of Philomena Lee and Mary Harney, who were chosen as test cases, to address a core claim in eight similar actions.

The State consented to a court declaration that the commission breached its statutory duty under section 34 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004, by failing to provide each of the applicants, who are identifiable in the report, with a draft before the final report was submitted to the Minister for Children… Read the rest of the article on the Irish Times.

The Team at KOD Lyons were proud to act on behalf of three applicants who received declarations from the High Court that the Commission of Investigation wrongly denied them their right, pursuant to Section 34 of the Commission of Investigation Act 2004, to reply to a draft of the Commission’s findings. The declaration will now appear alongside the Commission’s Final report on the Government website and it will be deposited for permanent preservation in the Oireachtas Library alongside the Commission’s report.

While the declaration is welcomed it is now hoped that the Government will use the opportunity to drastically amend the redress scheme and extend the scope of available relief.

You can also read the full Clann Project press release, and read more in media coverage such as in The Journal.

For more information contact:

Stephen Kirwan, Solicitor