Mother and baby homes report fails to fully address the issue of illegal adoptions

It is estimated that 15% of children born in Ireland's mother and baby homes were illegally adopted, but this week's report has left the issue — officially at least — hidden in plain sight

Newspapers in the 1950s were able to report that hundreds of children were being flown to the US  and the work of researchers including Conall Ó Fátharta and Mike Milotte make it clear that Ireland was the centre of a vast international forced adoption ring. Picture: iStock

It’s easy to see how Tuam defined public perceptions of mother and baby homes.

The very notion of babies buried in or anywhere near a sewer is an abhorrence that has dominated the narrative since 2014.