An expert group considering the future of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home burial site is due to complete its final report next month. 

The group was appointed earlier this year by Minister Katherine Zappone at the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
Commenting on the group’s work, a spokesperson for the Department said, “There is no precedence for a situation such as this in Ireland, or indeed further afield, and the cooperation of all relevant government agencies is required in moving forward. This is to ensure that the dignity and integrity of the human remains at this location may be acknowledged and respected with their future to be secured as swiftly as possible.”
 

Options considered

Five options for the site are now being looked into, with the final outcome expected by the end of September. 
One of the five options involves no further investigative work at the site once the preliminary survey and DNA testing results have been considered. The site would then be returned to being managed as a site of memorial. 
Another option is to excavate and recover human remains from the Memorial Garden. This option would involve the complete forensic archaeological excavation of the structure identified as containing juvenile human remains by the Mother and Baby Home Commission of Investigation.
The option of DNA analysis is also being looked at. Once the feasibility of DNA identification is investigated, this option can be considered more fully. According to experts, however there are factors such as the potential degradation of the quality of DNA that can be recovered from the remains.
At present all five options are being investigated with regards to feasibility, requirements, expected outcomes, timelines and estimated costs. The final Technical Report on the Tuam Site will then be delivered to Minister Zappone.
 

UN Committee Against Torture

Meanwhile, the United Nations has criticised the government’s lack of progress on institutions like the Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalene Laundries and industrial schools.
A 10-member committee at the UN is looking into Ireland’s implementation of the Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. An Irish delegation recently faced questions when it appeared before the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT).
A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs stated, "As part of the recent examination of Ireland’s second report to UNCAT, a United Nations Expert Committee, the Irish delegation updated the Committee on the establishment of an independent Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. The Committee was briefed on the scope of the on-going investigation into what happened to vulnerable women and children in these institutions during the period 1922 to 1998."
The Irish delegation advised the Committee on the published interim reports and the measures being taken by the Government in response to the issues which have emerged from the investigations to date.
"The Commission was told that the investigation is a vital step on the path we have commenced to establish the truth of what happened in these institutions. The committee was further advised that the Commission is expected to complete its work in 2018."
The concluding report on Ireland's appearance before the Committee will be published this Friday, 11 August.