The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters, was established by the Irish Government in February 2015, to provide a full account of what happened to vulnerable women and children in Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions during the period 1922 to 1998.
The Commission carried out a significant and wide-ranging statutory inquiry, independent of Government, using powers under the Commissions of Investigation Act, 2004. Under its terms of reference the Commission was tasked with investigating the practices and procedures regarding the care and welfare of residents in these institutions and the entry arrangements and exit pathways for mothers and their children. Throughout its inquiry, the Commission relied on the testimony of hundreds of survivors and millions of pages of documentary evidence in order to make findings of fact.
The Deputy makes reference in her question to illegal adoptions, trafficking and money laundering. With regard to adoption, the Commission received evidence from some mothers who signed forms consenting to adoption because they had no alternative, because of family circumstances and/or insufficient means to support a baby. Some of this cohort of women are of the opinion that their consent was not full, free and informed. However, while acknowledging the challenging circumstances, the Commission stated that "with the exception of a small number of legal cases, there is no evidence that this was their view at the time of the adoption."
The Commission also noted that in relation to foreign adoption, that allegations had been made that large sums of money were given to the institutions and agencies in Ireland that arranged foreign adoptions. The Commission stated that “such allegations are impossible to prove and impossible to disprove. Similarly, donations were not illegal and could not be described as unethical unless the adoptive parents were trying to adopt another child.”
At the time of its publication, then Minister Roderic O’Gorman referred the full report from the Commission to An Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine whether information in the report could form the basis for commencing any criminal investigations. Having considered the Commission Report, An Garda Síochána pointed to there being insufficient detail in the report to commence criminal investigations.
On 29th April 2021, An Garda Síochána issued an appeal asking anyone, who believed that there existed sufficient information about alleged crimes at the institutions under investigation, to make contact with them so that such crimes could be investigated.
I would encourage anyone with information that they feel is relevant to bring this information to the attention of An Garda Síochána.
