Dr Gráinne Healy appointed new chair of Mother and Baby Homes forum
Dr Gráinne Healy has been appointed as the new chair of the Collaborative Forum on Mother and Baby Homes.
Dr Healy is a former chair of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, member of the Board of the Equality Authority of Ireland and the Women’s Health Council of Ireland.
Her appointment by children's minister Katherine Zappone comes after a turbulent few months for the body.
Ms Zappone published the recommendations of the forum in April but her failure to publish the report in full has caused huge anger amongst forum members.
She was also accused of "completely misrepresenting" the recommendations of the forum by offering to amend the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill.
In fact, the full report, which has been obtained by the Irish Examiner is scathing of the Bill and called for it to be scrapped.
It claimed that the “unstated and hidden objective” of the Government’s planned legislation to grant adopted people basic information and tracing rights is to “prevent access” to personal records.
The forum report is also scathing of the Government’s plans to transfer information and tracing responsibility solely to Tusla, labelling the move “astonishing, regressive, and a measure of unbelievable crassness and insensitivity”.
