Amnesty joins calls for inquiry into homes after mass grave revelations

Amnesty International has joined a growing chorus of calls for a full-scale inquiry into the operation of mother-and-baby homes.

Europe and central Asia programme director at Amnesty International John Dalhuisen said the “shocking” revelations of a mass grave potentially containing hundreds of children in Tuam required an immediate response from Government about the wider issue of past child abuse in state-run and sponsored institutions.

“This shocking case needs immediate attention and answers from the Irish Government. A thorough investigation must be carried out into how these children died and if ill-treatment, neglect or other human rights abuses was a factor in their deaths. We also need to know why these children were not afforded the respect of a proper and dignified burial. Mr Dalhuisen pointed out that, if the home closed in 1961, it is possible some of the deaths occurred at a time when the European Convention on Human Rights was in force.