An Bord Pleanála reached a humane decision on this sensitive matter
An Bord Pleanála’s refusal to grant planning permission for a large development on the site of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home is the correct decision, according to Social Democrats TD, and member of the Oireachtas Children’s Committee, Holly Cairns.
Holly said:
“I welcome the decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning for apartment blocks on the site of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home.
“Given the nature of this site, the unaccounted for remains of hundreds of babies – and the proposed development’s vicinity to the ‘Children’s Burial Ground’ – it was always a highly inappropriate plan. I had submitted an objection to the proposal to An Bord Pleanála, outlining my serious concerns with the development.
“An Bord Pleanála reached a humane decision on this sensitive matter. The human rights abuses and violence associated with Mother and Baby Homes means any developments on or adjacent to these locations need to be conscious of their history and respectful of these spaces as commemorative and traumatic landscapes.
“The Oireachtas Children’s Committee is focused on pre-legislative scrutiny of the Institutional Burials Bill, which provides for appropriate interventions in these sites. This may involve humanitarian forensic investigations and the excavation of inappropriately buried bodies.
“I am working to ensure that the legislation centres on transitional justice and enables all necessary investigations to take place.”
26 May, 2021
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