Mother and baby homes: Inquiry into 'barbaric' scandal announced after thousands of babies taken

A public inquiry into 'barbaric' mother and Baby homes, Magdalene laundries and workhouses has been officially announced.

The Northern Ireland Executive's move follows years of calls for a probe into the scandal that tore families apart.

The landmark move, announced by Michelle O'Neill, on Monday came after a recommendation last month from an expert panel for a full public inquiry.

Ms O'Neill and First Minister Paul Givan briefed victims ahead of her announcement in the Assembly on Monday.

She told the Stormont Assembly many women had died waiting for the long fight for justice, and children forcibly taken from their mothers remain scattered around the world.

Ms O'Neill said: "Our thoughts are with the women and their children who were treated in the most barbaric, inhumane and disrespectful way in these institutions across this island.

The scandal should "never be forgotten," she told members, as she confirmed the Executive had agreed to all five of the recommendations in the mother and baby homes report - including a redress scheme.

Women, and girls as young as 12, at the institutions were victims of abuse and a cover-up by church and state, Ms O'Neill said.

Women were "robbed of their babies and denied the truth, and it was wrong on so many levels," she said, as she thanked victims across the world who had fought in the pursuit of justice.

Earlier this year, a major academic report exposed the sheer scale of mistreatment endured by more than 14,000 women and girls between 1922 and 1990.

Watch Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill announce the inquiry:

It found that women were mistreated, held against their will, and forced to give up children for adoption.

Women were forced to work without pay at the laundries, and many spent their lives and died there.

The announcement comes after a major academic research report was published outlining the scale of mistreatment endured by thousands of women and girls in the institutions.

The work, by Queen’s University and Ulster University, examined mother and baby homes operated by Roman Catholic and Protestant groups, charities, and social services.

It found that more than 14,000 girls and women went through the doors of the homes, Magdalene laundries and other institutions between 1922 and 1990.

The report detailed how women were mistreated, held against their will, and forced to give up children for adoption.

Following on from the research, the expert panel was commissioned to work with victims to propose the shape of a future investigation.

Key facts to know about the inquiry:

• An integrated truth investigation, and eventual public inquiry will call upon the testimony of victims and survivors around the world.

• The truth investigation will gather, assess and analyse information from records and individuals to make evidence-based recommendations.

•  A non-statutory independent panel will allow those who were sent to the institutions, and their families, to give testimony in a less adversarial format.

• An official apology will be made to victims and survivors, and a memorial will be created.

• A redress package will be introduced, and legislation will be tabled to compel institutions, including churches, to comply with financial reparation orders.

• The redress package is hoped to include the provision of citizenship rights to those who lost their entitlement by being moved out of Northern Ireland to other jurisdictions.

• The Department of Health is considering including a duty to preserve and not destroy relevant records in the Adoption and Children Bill currently before the Assembly.

• The Executive will request full cooperation with the government of the Republic of Ireland, for cross-jurisdiction access to all records and information.

When will the inquiry launch?

Ms O’Neill said the Executive would be pressing ahead with some of the recommendations immediately, including work to establish the non-statutory independent panel within the next six months.

However, she said it would not be possible to advance legislation to set up the public inquiry until the new Assembly mandate next year.

She added that groundwork would also begin on the legislation that will be required to ensure that redress payments are not means-tested and welfare benefits are not impacted.

The offer of citizenship recommended in the redress package does not fall within the remit of the Executive, and will need action from the UK Home Office, she confirmed.

Expert panel member Professor Phil Scraton earlier described the homes that forced mothers to give up their children for adoption as "one of the great scandals of our time."

Inquiry advocates hope the process will shed light on suffering and provide avenues for justice.

The news of an inquiry is likely to ripple across the Republic of Ireland and the world.

Babies removed from mothers in Northern Ireland were in some cases sent as far away as the United States and Australia.

Ms O’Neill highlighted that the issue of citizenship did not fall within the remit of the Executive, and would need action from the UK Home Office.