Gardaí appeal for mother and baby home survivors to come forward to aid investigations

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the survivor testimony was 'harrowing and disturbing' with accounts of pregnant girls as young as 12 being admitted to mother and baby homes. Picture: RollingNews.ie

The Garda Commissioner has issued a direct appeal to survivors of mother and baby homes to contact gardaí amid concerns that some were victims of rape, incest or abuse crimes.

Drew Harris issued his appeal during a virtual meeting of the Policing Authority on Thursday, where senior officers briefed the authority on their assessment of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes report.

Mr Harris said the survivor testimony was “harrowing and disturbing” with accounts of pregnant girls as young as 12 being admitted to mother and baby homes.

He said it was clear that serious criminality was engaged in against women and girls, with almost 20% of the residents of those institutions aged under 18.

So there is very significant concern and issues here in terms of their mental vulnerability, with indications of incest, rape and what would now be called statutory rape.” 

“There will be various hurdles that we will have to cross in relation to the criminal law as it was at the time, but we want people to come forward if they feel they have a complaint to make or an issue to raise with us.

“We will deal with those each, in turn, and at least be able to either investigate and report to the DPP or at the very least explain why we haven’t gone to a prosecution that is not likely to succeed.” 

Mr Harris urged people to come forward and report any crimes relating to their pregnancy or to any abuse they suffered during their time in the institutions. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

A dedicated Garda team examined the commission's report to determine if it contained enough information that could form the basis for launching criminal investigations but because the testimony is anonymised, gardaí said there was “insufficient detail” to launch a criminal probe at the moment.

Mr Harris urged people to come forward and report any crimes relating to their pregnancy or to any abuse they suffered during their time in the institutions.

He said members of the specialist Protective Services Units in various Garda divisions are specially trained to deal with such complaints and have significant experience in such investigations.

But he cautioned that given the 90-year time period involved, persons of interest, possible suspects and potential witnesses may have died, and records may no longer exist.

Anyone with information is advised to contact gardaí:

• By emailing [e-mail];
• By phoning the Garda Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Line on 1800 555 222. This is a confidential and free service available 24/7;
• Or by calling to your local Garda station.

Anyone who makes contact will get a personal contact within 48 hours for follow-up.