Expert will look at Tuam human rights

A CHILDREN’S watchdog will carry out a detailed study on the Tuam mother and baby home to identify any breaches of the human rights.

The outcome of the report by Ireland’s Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Geoffrey Shannon, is likely to influence the Government’s decision on what to do with the home.

The Government has been presented by five options in the expert technical group’s report.

They include building a memorial garden for the children as well as a full excavation of the site and DNA testing which could take up to two years and would cost up to €5million. The Irish Daily Mail has learned the Minister for Children Katherine Zappone has asked Professor Shannon to examine a number of human rights issues identified in the report.

The report states that these issues fell outside its Terms of Reference, but recommended that they be examined fully.

In a document issued by the minister yesterday it has stated ‘any investigation proposed here may benefit from a consideration of the human rights norms prevailing at the relevant time’. The report outlined the issues that the rapporteur will be considering will include human rights issues around the right of an individual to a respectful and appropriate burial.

Another issue the report identifies is the need to consider the entitlement of living family members to know the fate of their relatives.

Speaking to the Mail, Anna Corrigan whose brother John Desmond Dolan is believed to be buried in the grave at the Tuam site, said she welcomed the news.

Ms Corrigan said: ‘Geoffrey Shannon has already shown us that he is on the side of the children... We look forward to reading his report.’