Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to pick up on that theme. A geophysical survey of infant burial grounds will begin today at the site of the former Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby home, near Roscrea, County Tipperary. Records of deaths at the home show that 269 children died there between 1934 and 1967 but, due to the failure of the order to keep records, the number of children who died there is not known definitively. In the past two interim reports the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters has highlighted its difficulty in finding out more about the burial arrangements for children and women who died in these homes. The commission has noted that there are significant gaps in the information available on the burial of babies who died in a number of the institutions under investigation and has warned that it will prove difficult to establish the facts. This statement tells its own story of the State's direct hand in the treatment of children who died, none of whom reached his or her first birthday in the case of Sean Ross Abbey.

As the Taoiseach will know, statutory inspections of maternity homes began in 1934, which means the majority of the children who died in Sean Ross Abbey died on the State's watch. The Tuam Home Survivors Network has asked the Government to begin collecting its members' DNA samples immediately due to their age and health profile. It wants to eliminate any delay in returning human remains to identifiable relatives for dignified burials and provide the samples voluntarily.

When does the Taoiseach expect to receive the report of Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, commissioned by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, to consider whether the network's request can be granted? Will the Taoiseach personally ensure that the network is informed of its findings before the report is made public?

See this speech in context