Department establishes office to oversee Tuam Mother and Baby home excavation

The 796 Tuam babies’ names were uncovered by historian Catherine Corless and exposed in May 2014. File photo: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

The Department of Children has confirmed that the Office of Director of Authorised Intervention which will oversee the excavation of the mass children’s grave in Tuam, has now been “established in law”.

It comes after repeated calls from the families of the children who died there, to exhume their remains from the septic tank where they are buried.

The children died in appalling conditions between 1925 and 1961 when the former Bons Secours-run institution for unmarried pregnant women was in operation.

In an email sent yesterday to the children’s families as well as survivors and seen by the Irish Examiner, Minister Roderic O’Gorman described the move as “small but important step”. The new Director’s position comes after the Government advertised for a Special Advocate for survivors earlier this month.

The email said: “The Office of Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam has now been officially established in law.” Minister O’Gorman said the role will “allow for the appointment of a Director to oversee the highly sensitive and important work of ensuring that the children’s remains at the site of the former Mother and Baby institution in Tuam are recovered and re-interred in a respectful and appropriate way.

“It was important that this step would be closely timed with the conclusion of the recruitment process for a Director.

“The recruitment campaign for a Director, which was launched by the Public Appointments Service last November, is almost concluded, with interviews complete and final clearance and contracting processes underway.” 

The Minister continued that he hoped to be “shortly be in a position to appoint and announce the successful candidate” and that he looks “forward to sharing details with you on the conclusion of the recruitment process”.

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The 796 Tuam babies’ names were uncovered by historian Catherine Corless and exposed in May 2014. However, despite test excavations in 2017 confirming that a significant quantity of children’s remains from the Tuam home were present on the grounds of the former religious-run home, the excavation has not happened.

The Government said the excavation required legislation which has now been enacted in law under the Burials Act. The Tuam site is due to be excavated later this year, though, no definite date has been given for work to commence.

Anna Corrigan, whose two brothers died in the Tuam home, said: “How long is it going to take for this agency to be formed, they have to put all sorts of departments in place, administration staff, loads of work has to be done and that’s all expected to be done by the end of this year? I don’t think so."

Archaeologist Niamh McCullough said in 2017 that the excavation needed to commence within six months. She said: “Getting the babies out and identifying them is going to take a long time. Forensic Science Ireland are identifying the bodies of the children when they are exhumed. 

"If they come under that new agency, and they won’t have all their new equipment to do this, it’ll take a long time. Here we are in 2023 after the story broke in 2014 and we are still no closer to getting the babies out”.