Taoiseach apologises over mother and baby home scandal
Micheal Martin has said the State failed unmarried mothers and their children.
Last updated 13th Jan 2021
The Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, has apologised for the "profound generational wrong'' on the survivors of homes for unmarried mothers and their children.
The Irish premier said the mothers and children were failed by the State.
Speaking in the Dail today (Wednesday) he said: “I apologise for the shame and stigma which they were subjected to and which, for some, remains a burden to this day.
“In apologising, I want to emphasise that each of you were in an institution because of the wrongs of others.
“Each of you is blameless, each of you did nothing wrong and has nothing to be ashamed of.
“Each of you deserved so much better.
“The lack of respect for your fundamental dignity and rights as mothers and children who spent time in these institutions is humbly acknowledged and deeply regretted.
“The Irish State, as the main funding authority for the majority of these institutions, had the ultimate ability to exert control over these institutions, in addition to its duty of care to protect citizens with a robust regulatory and inspection regime.
“This authority was not exerted, and the State's duty of care was not upheld.
“The State failed you, the mothers and children in these homes.''
Mr Martin said it is the duty of a republic to be willing to hold itself to account.
He said the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes report recognises a “profound failure of empathy”.
Paying tribute to the survivors and campaigners, he added: “Its (report) production has been possible because of the depth of courage shown by all those who shared their personal experiences with the commission.''
The report found that the institutions for women who fell pregnant out of wedlock produced high levels of infant mortality, misogyny and stigmatisation of some of society's most vulnerable.
Many mother and baby homes were run by Catholic nuns.
It also found “appalling'' levels of death among the very youngest - more than one in 10 children.
Some of the institutions were owned and run by the local health authorities - the county homes Pelletstown, Tuam and Kilrush.
Others were owned and run by religious orders; for example, the three homes run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Bessborough, Sean Ross and Castlepollard (the Sacred Heart homes).
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, has apologised to survivors.
Some of the homes were in very poor physical condition.
Many of the women suffered emotional abuse and were often subject to denigration and derogatory remarks, the commission of investigation's report said.
Almost 9,000 children died, approximately 15% of all youngsters who were in the institutions, it found.
Major causes included respiratory infections and gastroenteritis.
The proportion of women admitted to such homes in Ireland was probably the highest in the world in the 20th century, the commission of investigation said.
There were about 56,000 unmarried mothers and 57,000 children in the 18 mother and baby homes and county homes investigated.