{"id":19096,"date":"2021-01-13T11:46:55","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T15:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19096"},"modified":"2021-01-13T11:46:55","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T15:46:55","slug":"new-legislation-on-the-right-to-access-personal-information-to-be-introduced-in-wake-of-mother-and-baby-homes-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=19096","title":{"rendered":"New Legislation On The Right To Access Personal Information To Be Introduced In Wake Of Mother And Baby Homes Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin alongside Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman during a live video call with survivors after the publication of the mother and baby homes report (Julien Behal\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>The Government will bring forward new legislation on the right to access personal information following the publication of a report on the country\u2019s mother and baby homes, the Minister for Children has said.<\/p>\n

Speaking on RTE Radio 1\u2019s Morning Ireland program, Roderic O\u2019Gorman said he had asked the Attorney General to look into the matter and that he aims to introduce the proposed legislation in the D\u00e1il by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

He wants the right of an individual to have vital personal information about themselves to form the basis of new legislation, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the end of February, my department will be in a position to address subject access requests coming in to the department regarding personal information contained in the archive of investigations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs regards the wider piece of GDPR legislation, I\u2019ll be prioritizing that over the course of this year, I would hope to bring it to pre-legislative scrutiny this year and hopefully bring it into the Oireachtas by the end of this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minister O\u2019Gorman said it was important an apology to the survivors of the mother and baby homes is made today.<\/p>\n

Some survivors have asked for more time to read the Commission of Investigation\u2019s 3,000-page report into the homes for unmarried mothers and their children, before the Taoiseach makes a formal apology in the D\u00e1il this afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that the State and successive governments failed in any way to address this issue, and I think it is important in that context, that the State, as part of the set of responses that it put out yesterday, the first one of these is an apology,\u201d the Minister said.<\/p>\n

Such an apology, he added, could be used as the basis to try to rebuild trust with survivors that had been \u201cso badly damaged\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Gorman rejected any suggestion that the Government was trying to foist responsibility for the mother and baby homes scandal on to society.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI don\u2019t think the Taoiseach or anyone in the Government is trying to in any way foist or deflect responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the apology is coming. That\u2019s why we set out 22 actions in our action plan of responses to this report.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe fact that the Taoiseach on behalf of the State is making an apology today does make it very clear that this Government takes responsibility on behalf of the State for the failings that are manifestly clear within this report.\u201d<\/p>\n

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