The Office of the Director of Authorised Interventions at Tuam (ODAIT) is set to begin work this summer on exhuming the remains of the children that were buried in a disused sewage system on the grounds of the Mother and Baby institution in Tuam, Co. Galway, which was in operation from 1925 to 1961.
This is a hugely complicated process that has taken two years to set up.
The purpose of the work is to restore dignity in death and, where possible, an identity to those inappropriately buried at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam.
ODAIT will recover remains from the manifestly inappropriate place where they are currently buried, and attempt to identify the remains of those buried (if possible) and offer dignified reburial, in line with the wishes of family members and survivors.
Identification
Identification of the remains can only be achieved by taking DNA samples from people who suspect that they have relatives buried at the site. ODAIT state that identification will be: ‘challenging due to the young age of the children at death, the elapse of time since their death, the environmental conditions in Tuam and the likely small number of close relatives who can provide samples.’
As such there is a need people to come forward who know or suspect that they had a family member pass away in Tuam Mother and Baby institution.
This is a staged process where ODAIT is , in the first instance, looking to get DNA from elderly and/or vulnerable possible family members who may not be in a position to wait for the general collection of DNA (referred to in the legislation as the Identification Programme) to begin because of serious concerns about their age or health status.
The list of family members that can give a DNA sample are; child, parent, sibling, half-sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, half-niece, half-nephew, grandniece or grandnephew.
You can also visit the ODAIT website https://odait.ie/ contact ODAIT at info@dait.ie or phone 00353 1 539 1777
Action Plan
The work at Tuam is one element of a comprehensive package of support measures agreed by the Government as part of the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, which was published in November 2021.
Two other important measures contained in the Action Plan response include access to birth information, provided through the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, and the establishment of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme.
The Birth Information and Tracing Act provides a full and clear right of access to birth certificates and birth and early life information for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, nursed out or the subject of an illegal birth registration, or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins.
Further information is available at www.birthinfo.ie
The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme provides financial payments and an enhanced medical card or health support payment to eligible people in acknowledgement of circumstances experienced while resident in Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions.
For further information on the Payment Scheme, or to apply, visit www.gov.ie/paymentscheme
If you live in Britain and are affected by any aspects of Mother and Baby and County Homes in the Republic of Ireland you can contact:
The National Response line 0800 519 5519 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10.00am to 4pm (The London Irish Centre),
0247 625 6629 (Coventry Irish Society) or
07432 138 682 (Fréa - Renewing Roots.)
Further information on support for survivors can be found HERE.