Civil liberties group calls for criminal investigations into mother and baby homes

The civil liberties group issued a statement following the publication of the fifth interim report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission, which it said “reveals disturbing detail on the failure of institutions to provide dignified burials for hundreds of children who died in their care”.

The ICCL has called for the commission to be given increased investigatory powers and has voiced concern over plans to seal the evidence submitted to the commission, making it inaccessible to any further investigations.

In a statement, the group said: “ICCL calls on the Minister for Justice to mandate individual criminal investigations and to ensure that where the law was broken or where human rights abuses have been committed, accountability is prioritised.

“It is deeply regrettable that because of the strict rules on the use of evidence gathered by the Commission, witnesses in such cases would need to be re-interviewed and are likely to be re-victimised as a result.”