On 29th May 2024, Independent Panel members Leanne McCormick, Sean O'Connell and Roisin McGlone met with the Committee for the Executive Office to tell them about their work.
Following the recent launch of its Interim Report, Independent Panel members took the opportunity to highlight their recommendations to Ministers, some of which include:
- the early appointment of the Chair of the Public Inquiry,
- a six-month extension to the time the Independent Panel has to carry out its work, and
- a request for the continued support of Ministers to gain access to relevant records in the Republic of Ireland.
The discussion focused on a number of the Independent Panel’s areas of work and key milestones, including:
- ongoing work with PRONI to locate, preserve and digitise relevant records,
- the start of the second phase of the testimony collection process,
- plans for a public outreach campaign, and
- ongoing work to provide victims-survivors with guidance to help them to navigate the “maze” of getting access to their personal records.
Victim-Survivor Representative Roisin McGlone, talked about the impact of society’s attitudes towards women and girls, and of the Independent Panel’s aim to inspire them with the confidence to share their lived experiences in a confidential and non-adversarial setting.
"It was about our attitude to girls and young women, how we treated them and, in some senses, how we continue to treat them. We have to break that cycle so that we can touch women out there who, maybe up to now, have felt that they could not even tell their families, never mind an Independent Panel or [public] inquiry. For me, that is the value of this."
Independent Panel co-chair Sean O’Connell, emphasised that there are a wide range of individuals who could provide the Independent Panel with valuable information:
"We also want to speak to relatives, partners, people who worked in or were associated with the institutions, people who may have visited in their professional capacity; and those involved in pathways and practices associated with those institutions. That might include private nursing homes, for example. It might include people who were involved in the cross-border transfer or movement of young children or girls and women coming across the border into Magdalene laundries, for example."
Questions asked by Committee members raised other important topics such as:
- how the Independent Panel is encouraging and empowering people to come forward and engage,
- barriers faced by people when trying to access their personal records,
- the Panel members thoughts on an Interim Advocate, and
- the support services available to victims-survivors.
Watch the Independent Panel’s attendance at the Committee – starts at 53 minutes.
Read about the Independent Panel’s attendance at the Committee
