Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our witnesses for coming before us and for their tireless work as advocates and professionals in seeking truth and justice for the innocent children and especially for their families. I also want to acknowledge and thank Catherine Corless for her advocacy and research on the Tuam site.

My first line of questioning is for Ms Corless and Ms Lohan on providing members of the committee with some understanding of what to expect at the Tuam site. That site will be subjected to delicate archaeological work and efforts will be carried out on the process of exhumation, examination and identification. What key findings were contained within the expert technical group report on the Tuam site? That might help us to understand what is entailed in the practicalities of doing this work and the types of technology to be used. I know Ms Lohan referenced that there should be a multidisciplinary approach to identification rather than solely basing it on DNA.

It would be good to get an understanding from a technical point of view. My question to Dr. Maeve O'Rourke is in regard to the impact of not involving a local coroner in the investigation and treatment of all mass graves. It is important we have realistic expectations and I am interested to hear Dr. O'Rourke's thoughts on that.