High mortality rates in homes to be investigated

The commission of inquiry into mother and baby homes will be fully operational by the end of next month and probably chaired by a non-legal figure, Minister for Children Charlie Flanagan has indicated.

The Government yesterday announced it was establishing the inquiry – with extensive powers of discovery and compellability – into all such homes which operated in the State for most of the last century.

Terms of reference

While the terms of reference have to be set, the statutory inquiry will investigate high mortality rates at mother and baby homes, the burial practices, and secret and illegal adoptions. Mr Flanagan also said the matter of vaccine trials on children in the homes may be included. However, a previous investigation into vaccines was halted after a legal challenge was taken by doctors involved in conducting trials.

The decision by Government to go ahead with the commission was widely expected, especially in light of the controversy that has arisen in recent weeks. It followed disclosure about high mortality rates, and questions over burial practices in the Bon Secours mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway which closed down 53 years ago.

Mr Flanagan said the revelations had been “deeply disturbing” and had shown up a tragic period in Irish history.

He said the Government would wait until an interdepartmental group had completed a scoping exercise of issues and available documentation and archive material.

The Minister is expecting that group to complete its work by the end of June and for the commission to be established before the summer recess towards the end of July.

He said it would look at all mother and baby homes, those operated by the State, by Catholic religious orders and also by Church of Ireland religious orders, including the Bethany Home in Dublin. While he said a lot of material was already in the possession of the State he called on the Catholic Church to co-operate fully and to transfer all relevant material.

He said the terms of reference and the identity of the chairman or chairwoman would be decided during that time and hinted that the individual may be a non-legal and non-judicial person. Mr Flanagan said the commission would have recourse to the expertise of historians, social historians and archivists.

"Now is an opportunity that has not been grasped by Government before to deal with this matter in a comprehensive way," he said. "It's not possible to detail the terms of reference of the commission at this stage but the scope and the breadth of it will not be confined to Tuam and Galway and the west of Ireland. "

Political consensus

Mr Flanagan was not in a position to say how long the inquiry would take but said he hoped much of its work would be conducted in public. He also said he hoped there would be widespread political consensus for the manner in which it proceed.

The decision came ahead of a Dáil debate on a Sinn Féin private members motion calling for an immediate judicial inquiry. There have been calls by all parties and by Independents for a full investigation.

“I very much welcome the comments of Archbishop [Diarmuid] Martin, Archbishop [Michael] Neary in whose diocese the main focus has been and the comments of Bishop [John] Buckley in Cork and Ross,” said Mr Flanagan.

“I am calling on the church to make available all the records and all the documents. I am assuming there will be full and detailed cooperation with this statutory inquiry,” he added.