Abuse files safer if kept secret, says minister
Ellen Coyne
March 19 2019,
The Times
The data protection commissioner was “informally” consulted about plans to seal institutional abuse records for 75 years, the government has said.
Joe McHugh, the education minister, said that a proposed new law containing the measure was intended to protect “highly sensitive records” which would otherwise be destroyed.
The government was criticised by abuse survivors and support groups after it published the Retention of Records Bill 2019, which would put the 75-year seal on documents from three major examinations of historical and institutional child abuse in Ireland. Records from the commission which led to the Ryan report, from the Residential Institutions Redress Board, and from the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee would be given to the National Archive and protected from publication and freedom of information law for that time.
The records include thousands of oral and written testimonies relating to the abuse of children. Between them, the three bodies are understood to have about two million documents.
A petition against the proposal has been set up. Catriona Crowe, the former head of special projects at the National Archives of Ireland, described plans to override the existing rule whereby records in the National Archives are published after 20 years as a “dangerous” precedent....contd/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abuse-files-safer-if-kept-secret-says-minister-vwzm9chsm
In response to a parliamentary question from Clare Daly, the independent TD, Mr McHugh said that the government had not consulted with the information commissioner or the data protection commissioner while it was working on the bill.
“However, I can confirm that informal discussions took place with the data protection commissioner,” Mr McHugh said. He said that when the three child abuse bodies finished their work the majority of the records that they held would be destroyed unless there was legislation preventing that.
Mr McHugh added that the bill “strikes a balance” between the confidentiality rights of people who had spoken about their experiences of abuse and “the need to preserve these historically important records”.
“The records held by these bodies represent the personal testimony and stories of many survivors of residential institutional child abuse and related papers. I believe that these records should not be destroyed both to ensure that future generations will be aware of and understand what happened and out of respect to the victims who came forward. Therefore, if the bill is enacted these highly sensitive records will be retained,” Mr McHugh said.
Ms Crowe said: “The provisions of the National Archives Act have proved perfectly adequate over more than 30 years to protect privacy and deal with sensitive subject matter.
“There is no reasonable argument for setting them aside in the case of these particular records, which will be extraordinary sources for scholars in the years ahead. The department’s action opens the gate for future restricted access to any records the state may not wish citizens to see.”
Advocates for survivors of abuse have struggled to access records. The government has refused to release documents relating to the McAleese Inquiry into Magdalene laundries. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abuse-files-safer-if-kept-secret-says-minister-vwzm9chsm