First cousins eligible for Tuam mother-and-baby site identification programme

0:00Now to some news this lunchtime concerning the identification program currently underway, at the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tum, let's speak to Alva Caneli, our social affairs correspondent, as well what can you tell us? So what we're hearing this lunchtime is that first cousins of children believed to be buried at the site of in Tum may soon be able to provide DNA as part of that identification program that's currently underway in relation to the site. Now this will happen if there's a change in or in amendment essentially to the institutions, institutional burials act 2022 and it's understood essentially that Minister Norma Fowley, the Minister for Children, she went to cabinet this morning and she proposed an amendment to this act. The reason they need to change the legislation is because cousins of the deceased, did they are not able to give DNA and the act at the moment it only allows for close relatives so people like parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews.

1:06Now there was pressure coming from family members a lot of cousins because they felt that grand nieces and grand nephews were of the same distance apart than they would be from the deceased. There was also opposition TDs, they were putting pressure on the Minister as well to include cousins in the legislation but really it required confirmation from the scientific end of things that it would enhance this identification program. So basically the department of children is recently received this updated scientific advice from forensic science Ireland supporting the inclusion of first cousins in an identification program, all of this as I said will mean an amendment to that act because cousins aren't included so it means the department of children for example will work with the attorney general, the attorney general's office then will draft a piece of legislation to insert into the existing act and that will go before the houses of the arokthas. Is there a perceived need then Alva to widen the net a little bit

2:08because in some cases I mean you may be talking about babies who died a very very long time ago and many of the family may no longer be with us? Yeah and I think that was always an issue when you when I think back to the pre-legislative scrutiny that was something that was raised at the time like they began excavations in July last year so it's almost a year on and there's a round I think around 200 people have come forward and say each update we get from the site we're hearing maybe 30 or so DNA samples being sent to forensic science Ireland so there is a question over whether is there enough of a volume here to identify the remains and by expanding it to cousins perhaps this will help things a bit more. Alva thanks indeed our social affairs color respondent Alva caneli will be back with more on the program in just a moment