Laois County Council called to protest against housing on Mother and Baby Home site

Laois County Council has been asked to join the campaign to stop the construction of a residential development on the Bessborough Mother and Baby site in Cork.

There was widespread shock across the country in February when planning permission was granted for the development of 140 apartments on the site which is believed to contain the unmarked graves of possibly hundreds of children.

Mother and Baby Home survivors have campaigned against the development, with a national protest taking place outside the Dáil on Wednesday, March 18. Portlaoise campaigner and daughter of Mother and Baby Home survivor, Laura Murphy, was among those protesting the planning decision for the Bessborough site.

Now, Portlaoise councillor Tommy Mulligan has called on Laois County Council to show their support for the movement and write to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, to oppose the development and request state intervention to take control of the site. 

Speaking at the March meeting of Laois County Council, Cllr Mulligan said that thousands of women and children passed through Bessborough and emphasised the neglect and suffering they endured during their time there. 

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The Bessborough Mother and Baby Home had a notoriously high infant mortality rate of over 61%, with 923 children having died there. However, only 64 burials of these children have been accounted for. 

"Why has the truth been hidden about where the remaining bodies are? Probably because there are a lot of stories to tell about how they died. Deliberately neglected and in many cases possibly beaten to death," he told the council. 

"A few years ago the Commission for Investigations into Mother and Baby homes stated that it is highly likely that all those bodies still remain buried on that site. The scale of this tragedy cannot be overstated."

Cllr Mulligan said that although many will look to blame the Catholic Church, successive governments should also be held accountable. 

"Throughout the years we've had little or no intervention from the government, we had no examination of the land, no physical survey, no plans to excavate. Many will see it as a cover up by the government. Successive governments have failed survivors. The state is aware of the mass disappearance of these children. Ireland has an obligation to investigate and recover these remains," the Portlaoise councillor said.

He also warned that if such a development goes ahead at Bessborough, then it sets a precedent for similar developments on other Mother and Baby Home sites across the country. 

As Cllr Mulligan said that this is "no ordinary" planning issue, the Government should step in and issue a CPO on the land. 

With Laois TDs in attendance at the Laois County Council meeting to celebrate the retirement of Cllr Padraig Fleming, Cllr Mulligan took the opportunity to directly plead with them to raise this issue in the Dáil.

The motion received widespread support from fellow councillors, including Cllr Fleming, Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley, Cllr Paschal McEvoy, Cllr John King, and Cllr Ben Brennan. 

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme