Tuam mother and baby home excavation to begin on Monday with search for remains of 796 children who died there
The long-awaited excavation of the Tuam babies site in Co
Galway
is set to go ahead from Monday.
The excavation will take place 11 years after local historian
Catherine Corless
's original research revealed that
796 children
died at the Bon Secours
Mother and Baby Home
between 1924 and 1961.
A lack of burial records indicated the children could be buried on the site. Just two children were buried in local graveyards.
The families involved were invited to visit the site over the last few weeks, as from next week there will be a 2.4-metre hoarding around the perimeter and 24-hour security.
READ MORE
The families will have an opportunity to view the site works as part of a Family and Survivors Day that the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT) is holding on Monday.
The director of the exhumation, Daniel MacSweeney, said the process is likely to take two years and will be a 'unique and incredibly complex excavation'.
In 2015, the then-government established the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to examine what happened to women and children in those institutions from 1922 to 1998.
A test excavation carried out in Tuam in 2017 discovered a significant amount of human remains in what appeared to be a decommissioned sewage chamber.
Tests conducted on the bodies revealed that those who died were between 35 foetal weeks and three years of age, and their deaths dated from the time that the mother and baby home existed.
The commission concluded: 'The combination of an institutional boarding home and commingled interments of juvenile remains in a sewage treatment system is a unique situation, with no directly comparable domestic or international cases.'
In October 2018 the government announced that it would introduce legislation to facilitate a full excavation of the site.
As part of the upcoming excavation process, a multidisciplinary forensic team was recruited.
The Sisters of the Bon Secours have offered to give
€12.97 million
to the Government's redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby institutions.
In 2021 it issued an apology stating that the children involved were buried in a 'disrespectful and unacceptable way'.
[
Woman was 70 when she found out her early years were spent in Tuam home
Opens in new window
]
[
'I was a Tuam baby': Boston man appeals for records detailing his past
Opens in new window
]
The congregation's area leader, Sr Eileen O'Connor, acknowledged the order were 'part of the system in which they suffered hardship, loneliness and terrible hurt. We acknowledge in particular that infants and children who died at the home were buried in a disrespectful and unacceptable way. For all that, we are deeply sorry'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Dáil spending watchdog to examine civil service and ministerial pension errors
The Dáil's public spending watchdog is to examine errors in pension payments for civil servants and ministers. It has agreed to issue an invitation to the national office at the centre of the controversy to be quizzed by TDs. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants representatives of the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) to face questions on the matter as early as next month. On Tuesday, it was revealed that a pool of 13,000 retired civil servants who were on work-sharing arrangements are to have their pension deductions checked for underpayments. Current Government ministers may also either owe or be owed money running into the thousands as a result of incorrect pension deductions, while former ministers are believed to be impacted as well. READ MORE There is also an issue in relation to the pensions of 30 retired senior civil servants. One of them could owe as much as €280,000 as a result of NSSO errors. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has announced an external audit of NSSO systems and processes and a broad external review of its capacity and structures. Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly, a member of the PAC, said there is 'really significant worry' over the issues that have arisen. At a committee meeting on Thursday, he proposed that representatives of the NSSO be brought in alongside the Department of Public Expenditure (DPER), which already is due to appear at the PAC on July 10th. Mr Farrelly told The Irish Times the committee has questions about how far back the issues go and which civil service grades are affected. PAC chairman, Sinn Féin TD John Brady, said the invitation is to be issued to the NSSO 'given the emergence of serious issues' there. Separately, the PAC also agreed to invite the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) as well as the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE) to appear before them next month to be asked about oversight of private nursing homes. This follows on from an RTÉ Investigates programme last week that showed undercover footage at two private nursing homes . Distressing scenes included older people allegedly being manhandled as well as residents being ignored when they pled for help to go to the toilet. Mr Brady said the PAC 'has serious concerns' in the wake of the programme. The PAC agreed to invite Hiqa – which inspects nursing homes – to appear before it following requests for this to happen from Labour Party TD Eoghan Kenny and Fine Gael's James Geoghegan.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Child (12) seeking international protection was missing for 18 months from State care, Hiqa report
A 12-year-old child missing for 18 months was among 30 unaccounted for during a recent inspection of the Tusla welfare service provided to unaccompanied and separated children seeking international protection. There were no records of strategy meetings with gardaí or contacts with UK or Northern Ireland counterparts to attempt to locate the 12-year-old, the inspection report outlined. A further 27 children were reported missing at various stages of the inspection and returned to their placements. The inspection was published on Thursday by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), and found that in 10 cases where children were reported as missing, the service was not managing these cases in line with the national protocol for children missing in care. READ MORE HIQA was informed during the inspection that 35 children were missing from the service. Due to poor governance in the service, it was not possible to determine the precise number of children missing as the service's own tracking system was not up to date and included children who had been found and located. As a result, an approximate figure was used in the inspection report. The inspection, which was carried out between January 28th and 30th and on February 5th, also found that in multiple cases, children in the service were not allocated a social worker. A total of 195 children were instead placed with a 'dedicated team' while they were awaiting the allocation of a social worker. The report notes that two children complained about being unable to enrol in school due to their lack of a social worker. Another child raised concerns about their social worker not answering their calls and not responding to their needs. Hiqa stated that not all child-protection concerns were managed in line with Children First, the national guidance for the protection and welfare of children. It cited gaps in the identification of child-protection concerns by staff newly recruited to the team, gaps in referrals to An Garda Síochána and delays in carrying out safeguarding visits to children once they were accommodated. In three cases, there were no records of safeguarding visits to children. The watchdog states that the Separated Children Seeking International Protection service has been affected by high referral rates and continued staff vacancies 'which impacted on the teams' ability to sustain service improvement'. Hiqa escalated a number of cases to seek assurances about the management of issues identified during the inspection, saying that it received 'satisfactory assurances' that an improvement plan would be put in place. A compliance plan was also submitted outlining actions that would be taken to address the areas of noncompliance. In a statement today, Tusla noted 'while the report highlights risks and ongoing challenges, it also recognises meaningful progress made since the previous inspection in November 2023, including improvements in governance, staff training, case management, and oversight structures'. 'The report notes the commitment of the staff to deliver the highest possible care in what is a high-pressure, demand-led and at times a crisis-driven environment.' Lorna Kavanagh, area manager of National Services and Integration at Tusla, said the agency is 'clear about the range of challenges and risks faced by the service', and is 'deeply committed to addressing the issues raised and ensuring that all children in our care receive a safe, timely and appropriate service'. She added: 'significant steps have already been taken – including an increase in staff, stronger interagency collaboration and more robust governance – and we are determined to build on this momentum to deliver continuing improvement.'
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Child (12) missing for 18 months from international protection centre, Hiqa report
A 12-year-old child missing for 18 months was among 30 unaccounted for during a recent inspection of the Tusla welfare service provided to unaccompanied and separated children seeking international protection. There were no records of strategy meetings with gardaí or contacts with UK or Northern Ireland counterparts to attempt to locate the 12-year-old, the inspection report outlined. A further 27 children were reported missing at various stages of the inspection and returned to their placements. The inspection was published on Thursday by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), and found that in ten cases where children were reported as missing, the service was not managing these cases in line with the national protocol for children missing in care. READ MORE The inspection, which was carried out between January 28th and 30th and on February 5th, also found that in multiple cases, children in the service were not allocated a social worker. A total of 195 children were instead placed with a 'dedicated team' while they were awaiting the allocation of a social worker. The report notes that two children complained about being unable to enrol in school due to their lack of a social worker. Another child raised concerns about their social worker not answering their calls and not responding to their needs. Hiqa stated that not all child-protection concerns were managed in line with Children First, the national guidance for the protection and welfare of children. It cited gaps in the identification of child-protection concerns by staff newly recruited to the team, gaps in referrals to An Garda Síochána and delays in carrying out safeguarding visits to children once they were accommodated. In three cases, there were no records of safeguarding visits to children. The watchdog states that the Separated Children Seeking International Protection service has been impacted by high referral rates and continued staff vacancies 'which impacted on the teams' ability to sustain service improvement'. Hiqa escalated a number of cases to seek assurances about the management of issues identified during the inspection, saying that it received 'satisfactory assurances' that an improvement plan would be put in place. A compliance plan was also submitted outlining actions that would be taken to address the areas of noncompliance. In a statement today, Tusla noted 'while the report highlights risks and ongoing challenges, it also recognises meaningful progress made since the previous inspection in November 2023, including improvements in governance, staff training, case management, and oversight structures'. 'The report notes the commitment of the staff to deliver the highest possible care in what is a high-pressure, demand-led and at times a crisis-driven environment.' Lorna Kavanagh, area manager of National Services and Integration at Tusla, said the agency is 'clear about the range of challenges and risks faced by the service', and is 'deeply committed to addressing the issues raised and ensuring that all children in our care receive a safe, timely and appropriate service'. She added: 'significant steps have already been taken – including an increase in staff, stronger interagency collaboration and more robust governance – and we are determined to build on this momentum to deliver continuing improvement.'
