Bríd Smith Challenges Minister Over Mother and Baby Homes Report
Bríd Smith questioned the minister about the decision not to engage an international expert to review the mother and baby homes report, saying the decision has provoked widespread anger in the affected community and criticising the report's conclusions and alleged misleading slants on testimonies. She pressed the minister on whether the official report will remain the state's record and sought comment on the handling of confidential witness evidence.
Question to the minister
Bríd Smith used her time to ask why an international expert was not engaged to review the mother and baby homes report and highlighted widespread anger across the community about that decision.
Community reaction
Smith said the report's "outrageous conclusion and misleading slants on the testimonies given" have created significant upset among survivors and their communities, and she asked the minister to respond to those concerns.
Minister's response
The minister said they have recognised the importance of the testimonies given to the confidential committee and described efforts to recover audio recordings that were believed to have been lost or deleted.
Recordings and testimony integrity
The minister acknowledged that some witness testimonies were abbreviated, truncated or combined in the official materials and said the initiative being brought forward aims to address those shortcomings by using recovered recordings or new accounts from survivors.
Next steps and memorial centre records
The minister said the proposed initiative would allow recordings from the confidential committee or new survivor testimonies - including from those who did not originally appear - to form part of the historical record and to be a key element of the records of the memorial centre the government is bringing forward.
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Minister, I just have 30 seconds to ask you this important question, your decision not to engage an international expert to review the mother and baby homes report has been met with widespread anger across that community and will you make a comment on the fact that this official report will remain the official report of the state despite its outrageous conclusion and misleading slants on the testimonies given, I am sure at this stage you will probably have to give me a written answer but it is a hugely important issue and is creating widespread anger in that community. Thank you. Minister, did you want to? What time do I have? Yeah, just a minute. If you want to have a minute, we will certainly facilitate. I have always recognised the importance of the testimonies of those who appeared before the confidential committee and that is why I went to some length to secure the audio recordings of those when they were believed to be lost and deleted and I know many of the witnesses described their personal experiences to the confidential committee and they did so feeling that their words would form part of the historical record. That did not happen, their testimonies were abbreviated, they were truncated, sometimes they were combined and that is what I am seeking to address in terms of the initiative I am bringing forward now to allow either the recordings from the confidential committee or indeed allow survivors to come forward to give a new account of their time, a new testimony of their time members who did not appear before the confidential committee and ensure that their words form part of the historical record and form a key element of the records of the memorial centre that the government is also bringing forward. Thank you very much.
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