IRELAND
Irish Times
Carl O’Brien
Wed, Jun 11, 2014
In May 1999 then taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced plans for a statutory inquiry into the mistreatment of children in reformatories and industrial schools.
The decision was welcomed as a genuine effort to shine a light on a very dark period of Irish history. But within months, the enormity of the task began to emerge to those involved in the process.
Ryan report Three years later, the judge appointed to head the inquiry had resigned . A key avenue of inquiry into the issue of vaccine trials had sunk into a legal quagmire. And the air was rank with accusations of lack of co-operation from government departments and rows over issues such as compensation.
It was a decade before the statutory inquiry’s report – the Ryan report – eventually emerged into the light of day.
It’s a reminder that the decision by the Government to establish a commission of inquiry into the mother and baby homes is the easy bit. Attempting to draw together the complex strands woven into this period of Irish life – such as infant mortality, burial arrangements, vaccine trials, forced adoptions and social attitudes – will prove far more daunting.
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