Three years may sound like a long time. But the 36-month deadline for a statutory inquiry into the operation of mother- and-baby homes is likely to be highly ambitious, given the scale of work involved.
The new commission of inquiry isn’t just examining mother-and-baby homes. It will also seek to investigate the complex strands of this dark chapter of Irish life, such as the pathways into these homes from other institutions, living conditions, care arrangements, infant mortality, burial arrangements, vaccine trials, illegal adoptions and social attitudes.
A thorough investigation into even one of these issues is a daunting task.
Take adoption. The inquiry will need to establish the extent to which children’s welfare and best interests were considered in making arrangements for thousands of adoptions in Ireland and abroad; the extent of mothers’ participation in these decisions; and whether children’s parentage was concealed illegally.
Huge numbers
The numbers involved are considerable. It’s estimated that at least 35,000 unmarried mothers spent time in the 14 homes run by religious orders in Ireland during the period.
As for burials, we know that at least 800 infants died at Tuam, Co Galway. But other homes, such as Castlepollard in Co Westmeath, are estimated to hold the remains of up to 3,200 babies.
In the area of vaccine trials, fresh data suggest that at least 3,000 children in 24 residential institutions and up to 40,000 children among the general child population were administered experimental vaccines.
In drawing up the terms of reference for the inquiry, the Government faced a delicate balancing act: ensuring an effective and comprehensive investigation into this dark chapter of Irish social history, but doing so in a timely and cost-effective manner.
The Government is all too well aware of how statutory inquiries have a tendency to expand into ever more complex territory.
The statutory inquiry into the mistreatment of children in reformatories and industrial schools, established in 1999, took much longer and costed far more than anyone ever anticipated.
It was a decade before the inquiry’s Ryan report eventually emerged.
Commission of inquiry
This time, however, there are crucial differences. For one, the inquiry is a commission of inquiry, a form of State investigation that offers a speedier and less costly alternative to a tribunal of inquiry.
In addition, there has been an extensive scoping exercise by Minister for Children Dr James Reilly and his officials to map out relevant issues in advance of setting the terms of reference.
And crucially, the inquiry is to be chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy, who has valuable experience in steering a thorough, focused and much- lauded inquiry into sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.
Notwithstanding these factors, there may well be unforeseen legal roadblocks. Issues such as the co-operation of witnesses and accessibility of records are likely to emerge.
Ultimately, however, there is no escaping the need for a thorough inquiry, no matter how long or expensive it proves.
We have precious few reliable details on the precise nature of women’s and children’s experiences inside these homes, or the power structures used by society to confine them.
It is only by piecing together the fragments of their experiences that we can begin to develop a full picture of the complexity of forces that existed to punish women who were deemed to have broken the rules of society.