Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government, through the work of the Minister, Deputy Zappone, sought a higher contribution and a percentage contribution but this is what is forthcoming. The Deputy will know the Bon Secours Sisters are not under any obligation to make a contribution but they are making a contribution of €2.5 million. We are treating it as a contribution. I want to make it very clear to everyone in the House that this is not a settlement, this is not an indemnity; this is an initial contribution to the cost of carrying out these works. The first €2.5 million will come from the Bon Secours and the rest from the taxpayer. It will be a very difficult operation. One needs to see the photos to understand what will be attempted. It is a very old mass grave. There are the remains of children in there. Some were stillborn and some were older. There may also be adult remains because it was a workhouse prior to that. It was used during the famine period as well. There are also potentially adult remains and remains from a very long time ago. When one looks at the photographs, one can see that the remains are intermingled - "commingled" is the term they use - and a lot of them are decomposed. It will be slow and painstaking and, unfortunately, it will not be possible to identify all of the remains. It will not be possible to individualise them all but we will do our best. What we learn along the way will inform what we do with regard to other sites. I think we are doing the right thing but I also want to contain expectations. This will take time. We have not done this before in Ireland. We will have to build up the capacity to do it. As well as that, while we will do our utmost to carry out a forensic examination, individualisation and identification, in many and perhaps most cases, it will not yield a result or answers.

See this speech in context