Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)

We do not know the full extent of the infant deaths in Bessborough. The order's records are unreliable and its statements to the commission were nothing short of abject lies in an attempt to scramble away from justice. At least 928 babies died in Bessborough but only 64 graves have been identified. The Department of local government at the time chalked the scale of infant deaths down to "conditions associated with the unfortunate lot of the unmarried mother". Survivors of Bessborough have never received justice from the religious orders that abused them or the State, which facilitated it and turned a blind eye. The very least the State owes survivors is to find the bodies of their children. We need an investigation of the grounds to establish the location of the remains of the babies and to conduct a sensitive excavation and a dignified exhumation of any of the remains. The entire site at Bessborough should be subject to a compulsory purchase order, CPO, and established as a memorial site.

The Minister replied that given the scale of the site, we will not bother or there is no plan to do it. I ask him again to ensure that it occurs.

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