Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I thank Deputy Cairns for her question. Obviously, it evokes a very painful and disturbing part of our history. In fairness to this Government and indeed previous Governments, there has been a process of trying to ensure that women who are survivors of mother and baby homes and, indeed, children who were born there are provided with recompense and acknowledgement by the State over the past ten-to-15 years or so. Nothing is ever enough for the pain that people went through, particularly the pain of mothers having children taken from them at a very young age.
Deputy Cairns referred to the commission of investigation report into mother and baby homes and it, as she knows, carried out a cartographic and landscape assessment of possible unrecorded burial arrangements in Bessborough. It also carried out a site survey and consulted with people on responses to its appeal seeking information about burials there.
It concluded that it was likely that some of the children who died at Bessborough were buried in the grounds, but it was unable to find any physical or documentary evidence of this. As no evidence of locations was found, the commission did not consider it feasible to excavate the full available site, which amounts to 60 acres, or the former 200-acre estate, parts of which have now been built on.
I empathise and acknowledge the pain that survivors from Bessborough feel at the news that the site is to be developed in a way they feel does not give recognition to the terrible actions that went on there previously. Planning permission has been granted. The Deputy knows as well as I do that the Government cannot interfere in respect of planning applications. I do not know whether an appeal has been lodged, but if it has not, that is an avenue available to the survivors.
With regard to other available avenues, the Deputy asked for the State to purchase the site. Unless there is specific, strong cartographic evidence as to where bodies are buried, we could find ourselves buying a vast site for the purpose of carrying out excavations that could take an interminable period of time. We know what is happening in Tuam at present, which is a small location. I had the honour of being there and seeing the size of that location previously. If we were to buy a site the size of Bessborough and start excavations, I would be extremely concerned at the length of time that would take. Ultimately, I do not think it would provide the type of support and appropriate response that all of us in this House want to provide to survivors. I will raise and talk to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste in respect of it. I understand the concern but purchasing the site is not the answer.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18