Institutional Burials Act 2022

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Number 18 of 2022

INSTITUTIONAL BURIALS ACT 2022

CONTENTS

PART 1

Preliminary and General

Section

1. Short title and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Expenses

4. Service of documents

5. Offences and penalties

6. Regulations and orders

PART 2

Chapter 1

Directors of Authorised Interventions

7. Government Order directing establishment of Office of Director of Authorised Intervention

8. Manifestly inappropriate burials and safeguarding important objectives of general public interest

9. Director of Authorised Intervention

10. Functions of Director

11. Resignation, removal or disqualification of Director or person to be appointed Director

12. Office of Director and staff of Director

13. Advisory Board

14. Membership of Advisory Board

15. Appointment of members of Advisory Board

16. Terms and conditions of membership of Advisory Board

17. Member ceasing to be member of Advisory Board

18. Ineligibility to become member of Advisory Board and disqualification to act as member

19. Power to appoint consultants and advisers and enter into contracts

20. Membership of either House of Oireachtas, European Parliament or local authority

21. Grants to Director

22. Accounts

23. Annual report

24. Accountability of Director to Public Accounts Committee

25. Accountability of Director to other Oireachtas committees

26. Amendment of Schedule 13 to Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

Chapter 2

Information sharing and data protection

27. Information and documents to be made available to Director

28. Application to District Court to compel production of information or documents

29. Request for information contained in database and related records of Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes

30. Prohibition on disclosure of confidential information

31. Processing of personal data and special categories of personal data

32. Regulations for purposes of data protection

PART 3

Forensic excavation and recovery and post-recovery analysis of human remains and suspension of relevant works

33. Proceeding with relevant works and related activities: access to land

34. No exhumation under Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1948 while relevant works underway

35. Forensic excavation and recovery and post-recovery analysis of human remains

36. Obligation to notify An Garda Síochána and coroner of certain evidence

37. Principal burial land or ancillary burial land as crime scene

38. Obligation to provide certain information where criminal investigation being conducted

39. Resumption of relevant works after suspension under section 36 or 37

PART 4

Identification of human remains and related provisions in respect of samples and DNA profiles

Chapter 1

Preliminary and General (Part 4)

40. Interpretation (Part 4)

41. Authorised person

Chapter 2

Identification Programme

42. Promotion measures and information campaign: Identification Programme

43. Objection to participation by eligible family member in Identification Programme

44. Objection by parent, child or sibling to participation by another eligible family member in Identification Programme

45. Register of notifications

46. Identification Programme: purpose and composition

47. Review of operation of Identification Programme

48. Participation in Identification Programme

49. Nominee of relevant person

50. Notification of whether or not familial link established

Chapter 3

Participation in Identification Programme of certain persons who give samples pursuant to administrative arrangements and who are not relevant persons

51. Use of samples given pursuant to administrative arrangements in certain circumstances

52. Generation of DNA profile from sample referred to in section 51

53. Nominee of applicable person

54. Notification to nominee of applicable person as to whether or not familial link established

55. Use of sample referred to in section 51 where person providing sample participates in Identification Programme

56. Destruction of sample referred to in section 51 in certain circumstances

Chapter 4

Final arrangements

57. Final arrangements for recovered human remains

Chapter 5

Samples, generating DNA profiles and DNA profile comparison

58. Generation of more than one DNA profile from a sample

59. Taking of sample from human remains and generating DNA profile

60. Taking of sample from relevant person and generating DNA profile

61. Taking of sample for elimination purposes and generating DNA profile

62. Re-taking of sample

Chapter 6

Databases: DNA (Historic Remains) Database and Personal Information (Historic Remains) Database

63. Establishment of DNA (Historic Remains) Database and Personal Information (Historic Remains) Database

64. Functions of Director of FSI

65. Permitted searching of Databases

Chapter 7

Oversight Committee and review of operation of Databases

66. Request that DNA Database System Oversight Committee perform functions under Act

67. Functions of Oversight Committee

68. Meetings and Procedures

69. Administrative support and engagement of consultants or advisers

70. Cooperation with Oversight Committee

71. Review and report by Oversight Committee

72. Final report of Oversight Committee

Chapter 8

Destruction of samples, deletion of DNA profiles and information held on Databases and destruction of Databases

73. Destruction of samples, deletion of DNA profiles and related information at request of Director

74. Destruction of samples, deletion of DNA profiles and related information: relevant person withdraws consent

75. Destruction of samples taken from relevant persons, deletion of related DNA profiles and related information

76. Destruction of samples taken from applicable persons, deletion of related DNA profiles and related information

77. Destruction of samples taken for elimination purposes and deletion of related DNA profiles and related information

78. Return of samples taken from human remains to Director and deletion of related DNA profiles

Chapter 9

Regulations and Appeals

79. Regulations for purposes of continuing DNA profile comparison after Identification Programme completed

80. Regulations: general (Part 4)

81. Appeals

PART 5

Access to land to carry out works and activities, compensation for use of land and remedial works on land

82. Definition (Part 5)

83. Access to land, carrying out of works and activities on land and compensation: general

84. Public body and consent to relevant works and related activities

85. Notice of intention to carry out relevant works on principal burial land

86. Application to court for order authorising relevant works on principal burial land

87. Notice of intention to carry out relevant works on ancillary burial land

88. Application to court for order authorising relevant works on ancillary burial land

89. Notice of intention to carry out related activities on ancillary land

90. Application to court for order authorising related activities on ancillary land

91. Statement of compensation

92. Application for compensation by person other than owner or occupier of land

93. Calculation and payment of compensation

94. Application to Circuit Court by person who refuses an offer of compensation

95. Remedial works on principal burial land, ancillary burial land and ancillary land

96. Exercise of jurisdiction by District Court and Circuit Court

97. Amendment of section 4 of Act of 2000

PART 6

Dissolution of Office of Director, transfer of functions, assets and liabilities and records

98. Dissolution day

99. Transfer of functions to relevant Minister

100. Liability for loss occurring before dissolution day

101. Transfer of land and other property to relevant Minister

102. Transfer of rights and liabilities and continuation of leases, licences and permissions granted by Director

103. Preservation of contracts, agreements and arrangements entered into by Director

104. Provisions consequent upon transfer of functions, assets and liabilities

105. Final accounts and final report of Director

106. Review of operation of Office

107. Deposit of records of Director with relevant Minister

SCHEDULE

Provisions applicable to Directors of Authorised Interventions

Acts Referred to

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (No. 64)

Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 (No. 23)

Companies Act 2014 (No. 38)

Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 8)

Coroners Act 1962 (No. 9)

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 (No. 39)

Criminal Justice Act 2006 (No. 26)

Data Protection Act 2018 (No. 7)

European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 2)

Interpretation Act 2005 (No. 23)

Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1948 (No. 3)

Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37)

Medical Practitioners Act 2007 (No. 25)

National Archives Act 1986 (No. 11)

Ombudsman Act 1980 (No. 26)

Planning and Development Act 2000 (No. 30)

Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39)

Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Acts 1921 to 2011

Number 18 of 2022

INSTITUTIONAL BURIALS ACT 2022

An Act to provide for the appointment from time to time by the Government of a corporation sole, to be called a Director of Authorised Intervention, for the purposes of excavating land associated with an institution owned, operated, controlled or funded by a public body and, having regard to the need to accord dignity to persons buried in that land, recovering human remains buried in that land in a manifestly inappropriate manner; to provide for post-recovery analysis of recovered human remains; to provide, where appropriate, for the establishment of an Identification Programme; to provide for the participation of certain relatives of persons thought to be buried in the land concerned in the Programme; to provide for the establishment, by Forensic Science Ireland, of a DNA (Historic Remains) Database and a related Database for personal information for the purposes of that Programme; to provide for final arrangements for the human remains recovered from such land; for those and related purposes to enable a Director in certain circumstances to access and carry out works over principal burial land and ancillary burial land and, where necessary, on land ancillary to principal burial land and ancillary burial land and to provide for the payment of compensation in certain circumstances to persons for interference with an interest in or right over such land; to provide for the carrying out of remedial works on land when work on the land concerned is completed; to provide for the establishment of an Advisory Board to provide advice and guidance to a Director in the performance of his or her functions; to provide that a relevant Minister may make regulations, having regard to potential developments in forensic science, to enable forensic testing of samples in certain circumstances for the purposes of identification of human remains after an Identification Programme is completed; to provide, on the dissolution of an Office of Director, for the transfer of any remaining functions, rights, liabilities and records to a relevant Minister; to amend the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and the Planning and Development Act 2000 ; and to provide for related matters. [13th July, 2022]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows: