Dr Katherine Zappone

The general scheme of the Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill 2019 was approved by Cabinet yesterday and the bill will now be drafted.

It will establish a legal basis to carry out a programme of phased, forensic standard excavation, exhumation and re-interment of remains at the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam.

The bill will also provide a legal basis for a programme of forensic analysis of any recovered remains, providing for samples to be taken from the remains as well as from family members of the deceased for the purpose of identification of the remains.

Because there are no appropriate oversight structures currently in place for such a complicated and unprecedented project, the bill will establish an agency to manage intervention at the site and act as a dedicated and responsive authority.

If other institutional sites fall under similar scrutiny as the site at Tuam in future, the bill would ensure that further primary legislation would not have to be developed, though the Department of Children and Youth Affairs believes that “from a legal and ethical perspective, it is considered appropriate to leave burials undisturbed wherever possible”.

The Government has approved the arrangements necessary to facilitate the transfer of the €2.5 million offered by the Sisters of Bon Secours Ireland towards the cost of implementing the excavation at Tuam.

Dr Zappone said: “The drafting of this legislation is a priority for me, and I am delighted that Government supports the approach outlined in the general scheme to deal with the various sensitive and complex issues at hand.

“I know that family members of the children interred at the site in Tuam have been eagerly awaiting this development and I am pleased that agreement on a general scheme marks a significant milestone on our journey to afford those buried there the dignity and respect that they deserve.

“I am also mindful that local residents will be impacted by action taken at the site and I am confident that the general scheme strikes an appropriate balance between doing what is right for the deceased, while minimising negative effects for those living nearby.

“The Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill will now be drafted along the lines of the general scheme and I hope to publish it in spring and bring it through the Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as possible.”