2768. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has considered purchasing a site (details supplied) through a compulsory purchase order; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55321/26]

2689. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any engagement she has had with survivors of the former Bessborough mother and baby home in relation to plans to build apartments on the site. [55665/26]

2690. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any engagement she has had with survivors of the former Bessborough mother and baby home in relation to plans to build apartments on the site. [55666/26]

2691. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any research carried out to date regarding the feasibility of facilitating a compulsory purchase order of the former Bessborough mother and baby home. [55667/26]

2692. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any research carried out to date regarding the feasibility of facilitating a compulsory purchase order of the former Bessborough mother and baby home. [55668/26]

2693. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any research carried out to date in regarding the feasibility of facilitating a State acquisition of the former Bessborough mother and baby home site. [55669/26]

2694. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any research carried out to date in regarding the feasibility of facilitating a State acquisition of the former Bessborough mother and baby home site. [55670/26]

2695. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any engagement she has had with Cork County Council regarding the former Bessborough mother and baby home and its future use. [55671/26]

2696. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any engagement she has had with Cork County Council regarding the former Bessborough mother and baby home and its future use. [55672/26]

2697. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the formal response to a letter sent to the Government in relation to the plans for the former Bessborough mother and baby home site (details supplied). [55673/26]

2698. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the formal response to a letter sent to the Government in relation to the plans for the former Bessborough mother and baby home site (details supplied). [55674/26]

2808. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the concerns (details supplied); the actions being taken to address them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55907/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2768, 2689 to 2698, inclusive, and 2808 together.

I am very conscious of the hurt felt by survivors and family members of people who died in Bessborough. One of the most tragic aspects of what happened is the uncertainty regarding the burial place of many children who were resident there.

I understand that the application to build on lands at Bessborough, the granting of planning permission for that application and the upholding of this decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála, has been traumatic for survivors.

You will be aware that An Taoiseach Micheál Martin T.D has asked Cork City Council to engage with the landowners at Bessborough with a view to exploring all options for the future of the site. This process is ongoing.

The investigation of burial arrangements in Mother and Baby Institutions, including Bessborough, was an important part of the work of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation. The Commission carried out cartographic and landscape assessments of possible unrecorded burial arrangements in Bessborough. It also carried out a site survey and followed up with people on responses to its appeal seeking information about burials. However, it was unable to find any evidence of burials of children who died there in the grounds. The Commission did not consider it feasible to excavate the full available site, which amounts to 60 acres, or indeed the former 200 acre estate, significant parts of which have now been built on. The Commission also investigated the possibility that former residents of Bessborough might have been buried in other locations. It examined the burial records of burial grounds that had been in operation in the area. While it identified some burials, it was sadly unable to establish the burial location of the majority of children who had died while resident at the institution.

The Commission's archive contains the documents referenced in the Commission’s Fifth Interim Report, namely a ‘cartographic and landscape assessment carried out by forensic archaeologists of possible unrecorded burial arrangements in the Bessborough grounds’, site survey documentation, Irish Air Corps photographs, and communications from the public, including submissions received in response to the Commission’s appeal and an interview with a landscaper.

Following the publication of the Commission’s final report, in January 2021, a formal apology was delivered by the Taoiseach to those who spent time in a Mother and Baby or County Home Institution. In doing so, the Government and the State both acknowledged and accepted the profound generational wrongs experienced by women and children in these institutions, including Bessborough. Building on this apology, the Government's response to the legacy of Mother and Baby institutions is set out in the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions.

Memorialisation of the lived experiences of those who spent time in institutions such as Bessborough is integral to the commitment to non-recurrence and to ensuring that these experiences are neither forgotten nor repeated. Memorialisation is also deeply personal and can mean different things to different people. In this context is important to acknowledge that survivors and survivor groups hold differing views about how the site at Bessborough should be treated. It is important to respect these differing perspectives and to understand the deep personal significance that the future of the site holds for the survivors, families and communities affected by its history.

In addition to inclusive local memorialisation, important work is underway on the development of the National Centre for Remembrance- a major national memorial and site of conscience to honour all those affected by Ireland’s institutional past. With State investment in excess of €100 million, the National Centre campus is being developed in close cooperation with survivors to honour equally all those who spent time in Industrial Schools, Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, Reformatories, and related institutions, and all those who have lived experience of Ireland’s historical adoption and boarded out systems.

It is essential that the views and voices of survivors and affected persons are at the heart of the National Centre. In response to feedback from survivors and affected people, I have expanded the Steering Group overseeing the development to include survivor members.