Details of a “massive societal failure” and misogyny that “permeated” Irish life for decades will be revealed when the Mother and Baby Homes Commission’s report is published next month, Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman has said.
The 3,000-page report will be brought to Cabinet on the week of January 11th and given to survivors of the homes before being formally released.
In an interview with the Irish Times, Mr O’Gorman said the report reveals a “misogyny that went all the way from government to the State to the church, but also permeated all of society”.
The homes were generally institutions run by nuns where women who became pregnant outside marriage gave birth. In the main these babies were adopted, frequently by Catholic families in the US, in return for donations.
The commission, established in 2015, investigated the treatment and abuse of women and children in 18 such homes and four county homes between the 1920s and 1990s. It includes the Tuam Mother and Baby Home.
A section of the report will outline testimonies given by survivors to a confidential committee.
