In October of last year, Minister Katherine Zappone announced that the Bon Secours Sisters religious congregation had agreed to contribute €2.5 million towards the costs of excavating the burial site at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

The minister said at the time this was voluntary, not a settlement, and certainly not an indemnity.

The €2.5 million contribution is just a small part of the estimated €13 million that will need to be spent on the excavation, reburial, and development of a suitable memorial for the children who died at Tuam.

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We want to look further into the agreement with the Bon Secours Sisters and find out what conditions were placed on the funding.

Were the government happy with a contribution of €2.5 million or did they push for more?

And what was the approach of the Bon Secours Sisters during these discussions?

We will use Freedom of Information legislation to find out what has been going on behind the scenes, in both meetings and correspondence between the Department and the religious order.

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