The body of a baby has been discovered in a skip at a factory in Co Limerick, it emerged tonight.
Gardaí said the body was discovered by an employee who was sorting through items in a skip outside a recycling plant in Newcastle West in Limerick.
The horrified employee immediately informed gardai of the discovery at around 9am.
A garda spokeswoman said: "The scene was immediately preserved for technical examination and the State Pathologist was informed.
"The age, sex or whether the baby has died from natural causes has not yet been determined."
A post mortem examination was to be carried out on the body in the Mid-West Regional Hospital.
Gardaí have appealed to the mother to come forward in confidence, as she may need medical attention.
The skip is believed to have been hired out to a customer in the Rathkeale area of Limerick for several days.
Gardaí will also be following the movements of the skip over the past few days to examine who may have come into contact with it.
It is believed the body had been placed in packaging and had partly fallen out when the worker was separating the various items in the skip early this morning.