About 7,500 went to North mother and baby homes

Judi Dench: Played a mother in the film 'Philomena' whose baby was taken from her." I suppose it [taoiseach's apology] goes a little way to the heart-rending pain of all those mothers who never knew what happened to their children, and have spent their whole lives, not knowing. Picture: PA

The number of women who went through mother and baby homes in the North could be "significantly" higher than previously estimated.

Judith Gillespie, chairwoman of the inter-departmental working group on mother and baby homes there, said the total will be more than 7,500, but stressed a recently completed research report should be seen first by the victims and survivors.