Holly Cairns: CPO Bessborough Now - Protect the Truth
Holly Cairns challenged the Taoiseach in the Dáil, urging compulsory purchase of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home site ahead of a planning decision next week. She said survivors demand truth and forensic investigation after the disappearance of 829 children and criticised the Commission of Investigation for not carrying out geophysical surveys.
What Holly Cairns demanded
Holly Cairns told the Taoiseach that the land itself holds the truth and called for a compulsory purchase order (CPO) to protect the site. She argued that geophysical surveys, test excavations and soil sampling are necessary steps and said the Commission of Investigation did not properly investigate burial sites at Bessborough.
Legal and human-rights context
Cairns pointed to the scale of the loss - 923 children recorded dead at Bessborough between 1992 and 1998, with burial records for only 64 - and argued the state has obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights to preserve the site for forensic inquiry. She pressed the Taoiseach on whether state apologies mean anything if the site can be developed without proper investigation.
Survivors' demands and local action
Cork City Council unanimously recommended a CPO, which survivors say is their first and most urgent ask to give them breathing space and time to decide next steps without the looming threat of development. Cairns warned that inaction risks survivors resorting to direct protests, including chaining themselves to gates.
Government response and planning process
The Taoiseach defended past measures, citing access to records and redress schemes, and argued that current laws and absence of evidence on burial locations limit further intervention. He said excavation without evidence is not lawful or feasible and noted complexities in how the state might protect the site without a CPO.
Consequences and next steps
A planning appeal decision is due next week. Holly Cairns framed that decision as a test of whether the government will protect Bessborough for proper investigation, memorialisation and accountability or allow development that could destroy vital evidence and the chance for families to uncover the truth.
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Taoiseach, Carmel Cantwell's brother William died in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home. Speaking at a vigil on Sunday, she said, The land itself holds the truth. These buildings, these fields, they hold the stories, the secrets and the remains of our family members. But that truth now lies buried. Taoiseach, if planning permission is granted next week, this government has a big decision to make. Do your state apologies mean anything or are they just performance? Because up until this point, every time I raise it with you, the current minister, the former minister, you all say the same thing. That an investigation of the site would be too big and too expensive. For one, is there anything too big when we're talking about the gravity of 829 disappeared babies? Leaving that aside for the moment, no one is asking you to go in tomorrow and excavate the entire site of Bessborough. Taoiseach, before that, there would need to be geophysical surveys, test excavations and soil samples. The Commission of Investigation did not do any of that. They did not properly investigate the site. But even leaving that aside, the first thing the government has to do is CPO the land. That was unanimously agreed by Cork City Council and it is the number one ask for survivors. For the state to protect the site, to give survivors breathing space and time to discuss what should happen next without the looming pressure of diggers rolling into the site. Taoiseach, another argument you put forward whenever I raise Bessborough is that you can't intervene in the planning process. Everyone understands and agrees that in normal circumstances, the government should not intervene. But Taoiseach, do you think that these circumstances are normal? 923 children died at Bessborough between 1992 and 1998 when it finally closed. 1998 isn't that long ago. Taoiseach, this is your constituency. You were on the local authority at the time. Burial records exist for just 64, meaning 829 children were disappeared, presumed dead, nobody knows. These are not normal circumstances. Under the ECHR, the state has a legal obligation to protect this site for proper forensic investigation and to deliver truth and justice for survivors. The only way to do that, Taoiseach, is through CPO-ing the land. What survivors want to know is what is this government going to do if the planning decision is upheld? Nothing? Will you sit back while survivors chain themselves to the gates? Or is this government going to do what it should have done a long time ago? The bare minimum, CPO the land. First of all, the pain felt by survivors and families connected to Bessborough is profound. It is enduring. And I or the government has never minimised that reality. And I would argue that the last government did more on these issues than any previous government for a long time. And it wasn't just about performance, Deputy. And I think it's unfair of you to put that insinuation across. In the manner that you have, given the profundity and the deep sadness of this issue. The most fundamental pursuit for quite a number of years was access, unhindered access to all birth records. That was the most significant issue over two decades. And there was various arguments used around constitutional this and that. The last government and the Attorney General advised there should be no hindrance to access to information. That has happened and it's been very comprehensive. So this isn't some empty gesture performance that you have suggested it was. And no one has a monopoly of compassion or concern about this issue. I would equally say the redress scheme, and people could argue on terms of merits or demerits, the redress scheme has been a significant redress scheme. And about 7,000 to date have applied. My understanding is up to 6,000 plus have received, have positive outcomes so far and the rest have been produced. And along with many other initiatives undertaken by the last government and indeed Minister Roger Corcoran in particular as the minister responsible at the time on that issue. And in respect of the legal position, the laws as we currently have them, by the way, as you probably know, prevents further intervention on the site. Due to the absence of evidence on burial locations, robust safeguards are in place and government remains fully committed to survivor engagement, memorialisation and accountability. The, we still do not know where the children who died are buried, including at Bessborough. And as you said, the Commission of Investigation at the Mother and Baby Homes examined the Bessborough site extensively, including cartographic and archival research, site surveys and public appeals for information. The Commission concluded that while it is likely some children are buried underground, it found no physical or documentary evidence locating burial sites. Now, there have been different calls at different time and there isn't unanimity on this among survivors in terms of how the site should be treated or protected. It is a large site of approximately 60 acres at the moment, previously over 200 acres, so already partially developed over the decades. And excavation without evidence of location at the moment is not lawful nor feasible. I'll come back to you later. Please, Deputy Cairns. Tisha, could you imagine what it must feel like to have your baby, to not know if your baby, your sibling, your niece, your nephew is buried at the site in Bessborough or was potentially sold abroad? And like Carmel Cantwell said at the weekend, the truth lies in the grounds. We are talking about some of the worst human rights violations imaginable, some of the worst crimes imaginable. We're talking about forced family separation. We're talking about disappeared infants. We're talking about human trafficking. And then we're talking about the potential. Can you imagine apartments being built on top of that uninvestigated, potentially mass grave of disappeared babies? It is unbelievable. And then I ask you, will you CPO the land? And you stand up and simply don't answer the question. Speak around the issue for the entire reply, talking about how great your scheme was that excluded people who spent less than six months in an institution, talk about the size of the site again. Is there a site that's too big to warrant the investigation of the disappearance of over 800 babies? But again, Deputy, in terms of CPO, the local authority, and if in my view, the local authority a number of years ago should have CPO'd the site, local authority choose not to. OK? And governments, by definition, don't go in and just CPO sites. There's issues as to how to protect the site, how to treat the site, without necessarily having to CPO it, by the way. And the history is a bit more complex than articulated by yourself as well. Much more. It's rather simple, and anyway, I won't say any more than that. But to put it this way to you, that even within the context of the laws that have been passed, and in terms of that planning application, you haven't specified to me as to how government should intervene with Board Planola. You must know the law, just like everybody else. But it's a great thing to say. But sorry, it's a wonderful thing to say, isn't it? Interfere with Board Planola. Just intervene. Please, Deputy. No, sorry, it's a very simple thing to say. Intervene, please. Time is up, Taoiseach. Thank you. Without any consequence. We'll now move to Deputy Evan Apache. The government will await the outcome of the planning appeal next week, and then we'll see how we can respond to that decision by the Commission on Planola. Deputy Evan Apache.
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