Mother and baby homes delay tragic

SURVIVORS of mother and baby homes fed up with the Government’s delaying tactics are set to sue the State and religious orders for millions of euro.

Last week Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone apologised for the latest hiccup in the work of a commission of investigation probing the institutions.

It is now unlikely the final report will be seen before 2021.

To date, no findings of culpability have been made – despite the fact more than 500 witnesses have already been interviewed.

The commission was set up in 2015 at a cost of €23million after the bodies of 796 babies were found in septic tanks behind the Tuam home run by the Bon Secours Sisters.

It was one of a number of institutions for unmarried mothers and their children across Ireland operated by religious orders.

This latest delay in justice has caused public outcry, with some politicians pointing out that mothers who had their newborns taken away from them are now elderly and deserve retribution before they die.

The fact these people were ostracised, shamed and packed off to these houses of abuse should never have happened.

These innocent mothers, their dead babies and the young children who were illegally sold off deserve justice.

And they deserve it without further delay.