Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of the fifth interim report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters, which I published on 17 April 2019. This comprehensive report focuses on the burial arrangements in the institutions being examined by the statutory commission of investigation. The report also provides detailed information on the transfer of remains for the purpose of anatomical examination. It is clear that the commission has examined and cross-referenced a huge amount of material in a way never before possible. The report reflects the sheer depth and complexity of the work the commission is undertaking in the public interest.

The report includes a number of important findings relating to the burials at Tuam and examines the practices in a number of other institutions, including St Patrick's, Bessborough, Bethany Home, Castlepollard and Sean Ross Abbey. The commission states that many of the children who died in the Tuam home are buried in the underground chambers on this site. The commission has determined that the burial chambers were not in a recognised burial ground or purpose-built, and they did not provide for the dignified interment of human remains. In addition, the commission concludes that there is little basis for the theory that children were sold to American couples rather than having died. The report also has wider implications for forthcoming legislation. Officials in my Department are working on legislation to enable the proposed forensic standard excavation, exhumation and identification of remains at the site in Tuam.

With regard to Bessborough, the commission reports that more than 900 children who were born or admitted to Bessborough died in infancy or early childhood. There are a number of locations within the grounds where burial could have taken place. Cartographic and landscape assessment was arranged by the commission. To date they have found no physical or documentary evidence which indicates burials. The commission is of the opinion that burials may have taken place in Carr's Hill cemetery in Cork city. Despite extensive searches, however, the register of burials has not been located to date. While at this point it cannot say for certain, the commission considers that it is highly likely that burials did take place in the grounds of Bessborough. It concluded, however, that it was not feasible for it to engage in an excavation of a 60-acre site. The commission confirmed that children who died in Dublin Union premises, including the former St Patrick's on the Navan Road, were buried in Glasnevin Cemetery where detailed records of these deaths and burials are maintained. In addition, the commission states that it has no reason to doubt that the majority of the children who died in Castlepollard are buried in the burial ground on this site. Mount Jerome Cemetery was the main burial site for the children who died in the Bethany Home. The commission reports that deaths of children were properly recorded in the Bethany baby book register maintained by the home's authorities. The commission has undertaken a geophysical study and test excavations of the burial site at Sean Ross Abbey and its report notes that the results of this work are being examined by the commission.

This report will take some time to absorb fully but it undoubtedly advances our understanding of the burial practices at these institutions. While the commission makes no specific recommendations, it calls on anyone who may have information relating to burials to come forward and speak to it. I strongly endorse this call by the commission and encourage anyone with relevant information to contact the commission immediately. This report is not necessarily the commission's final say on burials at these institutions. Any further information will be included in the commission's final report, which is due to be submitted by February 2020. The publication of the fifth interim report is a significant milestone in the work of this commission. We can be reassured that the commission has not shied away from the difficult questions. Its work will shine a light on this dark period in our history.

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