Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. We are conscious that the uncertainty regarding the burial place of many children who were resident at the former mother and baby institution in Bessborough is difficult for the families concerned. The investigation of burial arrangements in mother and baby institutions, including Bessborough, was an important part of the work of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters.

Regarding Bessborough, the commission concluded it is likely that some of the children who died at the institution are buried in the grounds but, despite extensive investigation, it was unable to find any physical or documentary evidence of this. The Government's response to the legacy of these institutions is set out in the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby Home and County Home Institutions, which was published last November. Action 22 of the plan commits the Government to advancing the burials legislation to support intervention at the institutional sites where manifestly inappropriate burials have been discovered. It also commits to encouraging local authorities to provide protections within development plan processes for burials sites in their areas that may be linked to former mother and baby or county homes. I can confirm that, in line with the commitments in the action plan, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has written to all city and county councils requesting that development plan processes give adequate consideration to incorporating appropriate measures to ensure the protection of unrecorded burial sites associated with an institution.

The circular also notes that local authorities, acting as planning authorities, may attach conditions to potential development as appropriate in the circumstances. The Minister has also established a working group of departmental and local authority officials to consider issues at local level in relation to memorialisation, including memorialisation of known burial sites. Proposed developments in the grounds of Bessborough are a matter for the relevant planning authorities, Cork City Council in this instance. The Minister, Deputy O' Gorman, has previously emphasised that any proposed development should give adequate consideration to the views of survivors and families members and the potential need for further investigations relating to works commencing on the site.

The recent communication to local authorities from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further emphasises this point. Should manifestly inappropriate burials be discovered at the Bessborough site, the Institutional Burials Act, which the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, commenced in July this year, provides an underlying legislative basis for an excavation, recovery and reburial of the remains. The legislation was developed in response to the abhorrent situation at the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tuam, County Galway, where it was confirmed that the remains of children had been discovered that were interred in a manifestly inappropriate manner and the Government was advised that a full forensic-standard excavation, recovery and identification of those remains could not take place under current legislation. To avoid delays in responding to any similar situations that may arise in the future, the Institutional Burials Act is not site-specific and also allows for interventions at other sites should manifestly inappropriate burials be discovered. In the case of Bessborough, the location of burials is, sadly, unknown.