A three-year investigation into Mother and Baby Homes will be conducted following the revelations last year about the deaths of almost 800 children at the Tuam home, the Government confirmed today.

Disputes between estranged spouses frequently turn into a “war over children”, inflicting “terrible damage” on them, Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said.

DETAILS of evidence uncovered by the Smithwick Tribunal into the alleged collusion by gardaí and other state officials in the murder of two senior RUC officers in 1989 will be revealed for the first time today.