Institutional Burials (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-25
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Gareth Scahill (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

The Minister is welcome. This Bill deals with a deeply sensitive and painful part of our history and it is important that we approach it with care, respect and balance. The Institutional Burials Act 2022 was designed to allow the State to step in where there is clear evidence of inappropriate burials, while also respecting the dignity of those who are buried and the wishes of their families. This proposed amending legislation would significantly lower the threshold for intervention. It would allow excavations where burials are only thought to be likely, for example where records are missing or death rates were high. While these are serious concerns, they do not always mean that inappropriate burials actually took place. There is a genuine risk that we will move from clear, evidence-based decisions to more speculative ones, which could lead to large-scale excavations at many sites without certainty that intervention is needed.
The Bill requires agreement among family members before any action can be taken. While involving families is essential, we know that views can differ greatly. Requiring full agreement may make it very difficult to act in any way at all. As my colleague has mentioned, the Bill removes the option for the Government to choose memorialisation instead of excavation in certain cases. That flexibility is important, particularly where families may prefer remembrance over disturbance.
For these reasons, I support the Government's amendment. It keeps the focus on careful, evidence-based decisions, respects differing views and ensures that any intervention is appropriate and proportionate.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-25