Martin Calls for Engagement on Future of Bessborough Site Amid Development Plans

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called on Cork City Council to engage with the landowners of the Bessborough site, urging them to explore all potential options for the former mother-and-baby home. This intervention comes after planning permission was granted for the development of 106 apartments on the site.

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I have asked Cork City Council to engage with the landowners at Bessborough with a view to exploring all options for the future of the site. Bessborough is of huge importance to many people and families, at home and abroad. We need to do the right thing for all concerned.

The development plans have encountered significant opposition over the years from campaigners and survivors who have links to the institution. An investigation into Mother and Baby Homes estimated that a staggering 923 babies died at Bessborough between the 1920s and the 1990s, a fact that weighs heavily on the site's future.

Martin emphasized the site's "huge importance to many people and families, at home and abroad," stating, "We need to do the right thing for all concerned." His call for engagement aims to find a path forward that respects the site's history and the sensitivities surrounding it.

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On two occasions in the Dáil this week, I urged the Taoiseach to intervene and ensure that apartments were not built on a potential mass grave of infants at Bessborough. It was not clear that he was going to act, but I welcome his statement today that he has asked Cork City Council to engage with landowers at Bessborough with a view to exploring all options for the site.

Other political figures have also weighed in. Tánaiste Simon Harris stressed the importance of listening to survivors, families, and campaigners. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns welcomed the Taoiseach's call as an "important first step" but insisted it should not be the last. Labour Party Senator Laura Harmon echoed these sentiments, advocating for the state to acquire the site and transform it into a public memorial, arguing, "We cannot cement over this dark history when many survivors still have questions about their loved ones."

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This is the key ask of survivors and families all along. We cannot cement over this dark history when many survivors still have questions about their loved ones. The site should be a public memorial.