Elaine Loughlin: Government knew about mother and baby homes but did nothing

Local and national authorities side-stepped responsibilities and caused confusion, allowing mother and baby homes to operate as they did

When it was suggested that Tuam be moved to a site on the outskirts of Galway in the 1950s the archbishop dismissed the council’s plans as such women had been kept in 'a place that is quiet, remote and surrounded by high boundary walls'. Picture: Ray Ryan

The Government knew everything but did nothing.

For the first 50 years after independence, as thousands of infants were left to die in mother and baby homes, the plight of unmarried mothers and their babies was never discussed at Cabinet.