Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Holly Cairns (SD), Cork South-West

Yesterday, the window for submitting observations on the development in Bessborough expired but the window for this Government to act has not. Behind those stone walls, women and children were put through hell and for 76 years the State turned a blind eye. Today, the Government is doing the same, as if the grim legacy of Bessborough can be buried under apartment blocks. It cannot.
Eight hundred and fifty-nine babies who died there have never been found and are likely in unmarked graves on the estate. There has never been a comprehensive investigation. Survivors have been consistently retraumatised by the State. The Government has an opportunity to change that legacy and to fulfil not just the legal but moral obligation to find the bodies of these babies and provide a dignified burial and memorial site.
If we do not act, we are complicit in further injustice. We owe survivors more than that. Will the Taoiseach act?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22