Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I recently attended a protest by some of the families who have been affected by the fact their babies' remains were incinerated without their consent. It was held outside the gates of the Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH. I spoke to several of the fathers and mothers, and they are absolutely at a loss. It is worth stating, and I am sure the Minister of State will understand, that these are parents who had already suffered significant pain, significant trauma and significant loss. Some of these babies were stillborn and some died a day or two after being born due to complications. There were various different tragedies and losses, with a very particular kind of pain for those parents. We must add to that the sense of betrayal and hurt they felt after they discovered what happened to their babies' remains. That is now compounded by the fact they have not been able to get answers, despite being promised this numerous times.

This first came into the public eye in September 2021, when an “RTÉ Investigates” programme outlined that 18 families whose babies' remains had been incinerated in Europe had been contacted by CUMH. This had primarily happened around March and April 2020 and CUMH said it was confined to that period. Having said that, it appears another mother has come forward to say something similar happened in 2018.

To give an example, one family, in trying to find meaning for the loss they had suffered, had donated their baby’s remains and organs for medical research but were to get the remains back for burial. It was an enormous pain to them that they found out this had not happened and that their baby’s remains had been incinerated.

In all instances, the parents understood that the protocol that should have been in place was that they were to be contacted to give consent. We have also found out in the past week that this has potentially happened in other locations, such as the maternity hospital at University Hospital Limerick.

The report was first promised in November. Then it was promised in the spring and now we are not sure when the parents will get it. These parents deserve answers. It is two years since this happened. It is nine months since the report was first due to come out. When will the parents get the report? When will they have answers? At present, they have no sense when the report will be published. Surely the minimum they deserve is to know why this happened, to have it ensured it will never happen again and to get the truth. There should be accountability for what happened to them and the trauma they suffered on top of the trauma of pregnancy loss and the loss of their babies.

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