New report to inform legislation to allow excavation at Tuam Mother and Baby Home site

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A report focusing on the burial arrangements of those who died in Mother and Baby Homes has been submitted to the Minister for Children & Youth Affairs.

A statement from Katherine Zappone says this fifth report will inform the legislation required to allow for the excavation and exhumation at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

The excavation of the Tuam site is expected to begin later this year as long as the Government passes the necessary legislation required to allow it.

The 2017 inquiry into mother and baby homes confirmed that ‘significant quantities’ of human remains had been found on the Bon Secours site.

The report suggested that almost 800 children may have been buried there between 1925 and 1961.

The excavations will be the first of their kind here, with DNA experts and forensic archaeologists likely to be drafted in from outside the country.

In today’s statement, Minister Katherine Zappone said she’s seeking formal Government approval to publish this report as soon as possible.