Tusla concerns over Mother and Baby Home archive and risk of “negative media attention” from having to refuse some requests for personal records

Tusla expressed serious concerns about taking responsibility for the archive of the Mother and Baby Home Commission fearing they would be blamed for refusing access to records of survivors and adoptees.

The child and family agency were also worried about the accuracy of records which they had not created, how to safely secure the material, and serious reputational issues from being seen as responsible for withholding information.

Concerns were also raised that Tusla were being asked to take more material than originally agreed and that they had a “particularly fragile” legal basis on which to hold and use the records.

Internal records also flag concerns of a high risk of data protection issues relating to “highly vulnerable” people, the very short timeline for taking responsibility for the archive, and inevitable “negative media attention”.