Minister Norma Foley on Bessborough: Investigation and Memorials

I really appreciate the opportunity to speak today on developments at the site of the former mother and baby institutions at Bessborough. The legacy of the mother and baby institutions is a deeply sad one, one that continues to be a source of profound hurt and pain for many many people right across this country. I'm really conscious of the sensitivity of the issue, particularly for survivors and former residents of the Bessborough institution, as well of course for their families. Indeed there may well be members in the public gallery today who were born in Bessborough or who had family members there. The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was established in 2015 to investigate and report on a range of issues associated with mother and baby home institutions. One of those was Bessborough Mother and Baby Home. As the Commission's report documented, the congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary had been invited to set up a mother and baby home in Cork by the head of the Cork Board of Guardians. The congregation decided to purchase Bessborough House, a large Georgian house on 210 acres. It opened Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in 1922. While it was owned and run by the congregation, it was largely paid for by public funding. Inspections of Bessborough Mother and Baby Homes was carried out by the Department of Local Government and Public Health. One diligent and determined inspector, Alice Lister, raised the alarm about the fact that 70 of the 114 children admitted to Bessborough in the year ending 31 March 1943 had died. All but one of the infants were under one year old. As the Commission's report documented, Ms Lister identified the unsatisfactory milk supply to the home and the failure to breastfeed as the main cause of the high death rate and the unhealthy condition of the children. She later recommended that Bessborough should be closed for new admissions for at least three months. Up to the start of 1945, no serious steps were taken by either the congregation, the South Cork Board of Public Assistance or the Department of Local Government and Public Health to address the problem. But finally, in January 1945, the Department of Local Government and Public Health decided to implement Ms Lister's recommendations to close Bessborough for new patients for a period. The mother superior in charge of Bessborough was subsequently replaced. In December 1945, the Department of Local Government and Public Health wrote to the County Council and boards of public assistance to inform them they could resume sending pregnant mothers to Bessborough. This is just one of the aspects of the decades-long history of Bessborough examined in the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. In total, 9,768 mothers and 8,938 children were admitted to Bessborough until it closed in 1998, which is not that long ago. The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes had wide-ranging powers and conducted very extensive inquiries, searches and test excavations at institutional sites in an effort to locate the burial places of children. The Commission made extensive efforts to try and establish where the children who died at Bessborough were buried. The Commission examined the records of the deaths in the institution and cross-referenced these with information provided by the General Registrar's Office. It also reviewed the records compiled in the institution and confirmed there was no information about burial arrangements there. The Commission was particularly concerned that none of those who were involved in the running of the institution were able to identify the burial place of the children who died there. Given the lack of documentary evidence, the Commission engaged forensic archaeologists to carry out cartography assessment of possible unrecorded burial arrangements in the grounds. The forensic archaeologists and the Commission's researchers reviewed all available cartography sources and aerial images. A site survey was also conducted. Whilst there were a number of locations within the grounds where burials could have taken place, there was no evidence found of burials anywhere except the Congregation Burial Ground, which is not nearly large enough for the number of children involved. The Commission also examined aerial photography taken by the Irish Air Corps in 1951. This is interesting because the large majority of child deaths at Bessborough occurred before this date and the Commission's view was that if there were burials in the grounds, high-resolution aerial photographs would show some ground disturbance or anomaly on the landscape to give some indication of where remains might be located. However, there were no visible features on the Bessborough landscape that indicated any obvious sight of the remains of such a large number of children. In addition, the Commission issued a national public appeal seeking information from individuals who may have information about the burial places of children who died in Bessborough. All information was followed up. The locations identified as possible burial sites, some of which have now been built on, were assessed by forensic archaeologists but no evidence was produced to suggest that any of the identified sites contain human remains. The Commission also actively investigated the possibility that former residents of Bessborough might have been buried in other locations. It examined the burial records of burial grounds that were in operation in the area. Whilst it identified some burials, it was unable to establish the burial location of the majority of children who died while resident at the institution. The Commission considered that it is likely that burials did take place in the grounds of Bessborough but despite its extensive investigations, it was unable to find any evidence of a location. It considered that the only way that it can be established if burials did take place in the grounds is by an excavation of the entire property, including the parts of the former 200-acre estate that have now been built on, which it did not consider feasible. While I understand there have been calls for further investigations, it is really important to note that there are very differing views amongst survivor groups about how the site should now be treated. I am aware that planning permission has recently been granted for the building of apartments on a portion of the privately owned land at the Bessborough site. For the record, I must be clear that the state does not own the land in question. The Government's response to the legacy of mother and baby institutions is set out in the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. On foot of the Action Plan, in November 2022, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage wrote to local authorities, including Cork City Council, requesting that development plan processes give adequate consideration to incorporating appropriate measures to ensure the protection of unrecorded burial sites associated with an institution. While planning decisions are a matter for the relevant planning authorities, the circular issued by the Minister noted that, in assessing planning applications at such locations, evidence of unrecorded burial sites should be treated as a material consideration, and that appropriate conditions may be attached to potential developments. My predecessor, Minister Roger Gorgorman, also brought the findings of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation to the attention of Cork City Council and on board Planola, highlighting the unresolved questions with regard to the location of burials on the site and, where any development takes place at the site, the need for that to involve archaeological investigation and ongoing monitoring. I note that in the permission that was recently granted, Cork City Council has attached a number of conditions, including requirements to have a forensic archaeological monitoring strategy and a forensic archaeologist in place to monitor excavation at the site every single day. It is also specified that, if human remains are located, all work on site should cease and relevant authorities should be informed. Forensic archaeologists are professionals that work on the recovery of human remains, including in the context of modern crime scene investigations. It is important to state here that, if the development commences and remains are uncovered during excavation for building purposes at the Bessborough site, it may then be appropriate for those remains to be excavated under the provisions of the Institutional Burials Act 2022. The profound importance of both local and national memorialisation is clear from engagements with survivors and former residents. The Government's Action Plan contains commitments in relation to dignified local memorialisation of known or agreed burial sites. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage established a working group of departmental and local authority officials to advance the commitment to local memorialisation. Officials in the relevant departments will work together with a view to bringing forward proposals to support inclusive, survivor-led local memorialisation. Another key commitment in the Government's Action Plan is the development of a national memorial and records centre. In March 2022, Government approved high-level proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance, to be located on Sean MacDermott Street in Dublin. It will stand as a site of conscience to honour equally all those who spent time in industrial schools, Magdalene laundries, mother and baby and county home institutions, reformatories and related institutions, and all those who have lived experience of Ireland's historical adoption and boarded-out systems. The National Centre will stand as part of our national institutions and will comprise a museum and exhibition space, the development of which will be led by the National Museum of Ireland, a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century, which will form part of the National Archives, and a garden space for reflection and remembrance. There has been significant progress in the development of the centre. In July 2023, Government approved the master plan for the National Centre campus and the preliminary business case for the main National Centre buildings. In March 2024, Government approved further key project documents, including the preliminary business case for the full National Centre campus. An application for planning permission was submitted in November 2024, and planning permission was granted by Dublin City Council in February 2025. Enabling works are currently underway at the site and main works are expected to commence later this year. Survivor members were recently appointed to the steering group that is driving the overall coordinated development of the National Centre campus. In addition to survivors, the steering group membership includes the special advocate for survivors and representatives of relevant state bodies. Whilst physically situated in Dublin, the National Centre will be accessible for all survivors and affected persons in other parts of Ireland and abroad. This will be made possible through the provision of digital access to some records and exhibits. In addition, it is envisaged that physical presences will be developed elsewhere, including in conjunction with some local museums, to enable survivors to visit more easily. In conclusion, I fully, fully acknowledge the trauma that must come with not knowing the burial location of one's family members. I acknowledge that the application to build on privately owned lands at Bessborough and the granting of planning permission for that application has reawakened so much of that trauma. I'd like to express my sincere understanding of how difficult this has been for mothers who stayed in Bessborough and children who were born there.