GOVERNMENT "May Force Religious Organisations" to Pay Compensation to Mother and Baby Home Victims

By Rachael O'Connor
The Irish Post
January 11, 2021

https://www.irishpost.com/news/government-may-force-religious-organisations-to-pay-compensation-to-mother-and-baby-home-victims-201201

THE VICTIMS of Ireland's Mother and Baby Homes may receive compensation for the abuse they suffered behind closed doors.

From the mid-to-late 20th century, unwed mothers in Ireland were sent to special, Catholic-run 'Mother and Baby Homes', where some remained for the rest of their lives.

While the cruel, unjust nature of these homes has been known and acknowledged for some time, a new report leaked to the media yesterday revealed some of the most harrowing statistics to date.

The report, seen by The Irish Independent, is due to reveal that an estimated 9,000 children died in the just 18 institutions investigated. That figure represents one in seven or 15% of all children born in homes studied.

These deaths took place across 14 Mother and Baby Homes and four sample State-operated County Homes.

Since the foundation of the State in 1922 up until the closure of the last of these homes in 1998, the commission report found 56,000 mothers passed through these homes and 57,000 children were born within these institutions.