Work to excavate the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tuam, Co Galway, is due to start in June, it has been confirmed.
The work is expected to begin in the second half of the month, pending the appointment of an excavation contractor.
Survivors and relatives of people who spent time in Bon Secours home, as well as residents living close to the site, will be informed of the exact dates in mid-May.
Daniel MacSweeney, who leads the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam, said on Tuesday that “substantial and meaningful planning has gone into this unique and incredibly complex excavation”.
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“As the site will be forensically sealed at all times during the excavation, we are hoping to facilitate on-site visits for survivors and family members at the beginning of the excavation.”
The Tuam institution operated from 1925 to 1961 and was run by the Bon Secours order.
In 2014, research carried out by local historian Catherine Corless revealed that 796 children died while at the institution. A lack of burial records indicated the children could be buried on the site.
In 2015, the then-government established the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to examine what happened to women and children in these institutions from 1922 to 1998.
A test excavation carried out in Tuam in 2017 discovered a significant amount of human remains in what appeared to be a decommissioned sewage chamber.
As part of the upcoming excavation process, a multidisciplinary forensic team is being recruited.
Mr MacSweeney said the excavation will take place in two parts. “Further details on the forensic approach being taken will be shared at the start of the excavation,” he added.
The Sisters of the Bon Secours have offered to give €12.97 million to the Government’s redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby institutions.
