Nearly a quarter of the babies born to Irish mothers and exported to the US for adoption were born at the Sean Ross Abbey, Co Tipperary, the convent at the centre of the film Philomena.

Once again, it has taken international press headlines to make the Government address a dirty little secret the State has been aware of decades.

THERE is no information at this stage to suggest the religious acted inappropriately during a vaccine trial involving infants in their care more than 40 years ago, the Laffoy Commission heard yesterday.