Survivors of Mother and Baby Homes say they’re feeling anxious and overwhelmed ahead of the publication of today’s report.
The Commission of Investigation’s work over the last five years looked at 18 homes, including the Kilrush Mother and Baby home and is expected to show 9,000 children died in the institutions across the country.
The commission was set up in 2015 following claims the bodies of 796 babies lay in an unmarked grave at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam.
The 4,000 page report looks at 18 homes, including the former Mother and Baby Home in Kilrush, where 180 children were born and around 320 women admitted between 1922 and 1926.
Speaking last year, local Historian Rita McCarthy outlined it’s place in the community.
After newspaper leaks which angered some survivors, it’s now expected that the report will detail how 9,000 children died in the institutions – a mortality rate 4 times that of the general population.
The Taoiseach will make a State apology to survivors in the Dail tomorrow.
The report has been discussed by cabinet and is currently being presented to survivors and advocates.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said what happened to these women and children was ‘terribly wrong’.
Former Labour Leader Joan Burton is calling on Micheal Martin to promise legislation will finally be put in place to allow people access to their own information.
The Former Tánaiste, who herself spent time in Temple Hill baby home when she was an infant, today told Clare FM’s Morning Focus that it is an emotional day for many.
She believes such a commitment would make a huge difference to people.
