The Minister has this evening completed his consideration of a request from the Dublin County Coroner for an Exhumation Order in respect of an unidentified baby girl buried in the Angels Plot, Glasnevin Cemetery in April, 1973.  Under the Coroners Act 1962, the Minister may make or refuse to make an exhumation order "as he thinks proper" in the circumstances.  Having weighed up all of the relevant circumstances and all the technical information available, the Minister is not persuaded that the making of an order would be warranted, proportionate or justifiable and has decided not to make an exhumation order in this case.

In examining this request, the Minister has consulted with the Garda authorities and with the Chief Executive Officer of Glasnevin Cemeteries.  He has also had the benefit of expert opinions from the State Pathologist, the Forensic Science Laboratory and the Garda Technical Bureau, as well as the reports of a Forensic Anthropologist who examined the proposal in a considerable level of detail.  Correspondence has been received from bereaved parents and support groups representing them and the Minister has considered that correspondence in detail.  The Minister has also considered correspondence from legal representatives and, of course, has carefully considered the case made by the Coroner for this exhumation and the very serious allegations regarding the tragic death of this unidentified child.

It is, however, evident that what would be involved in this instance would amount to a mass exhumation of infant remains, on a scale never contemplated or anticipated under the 1962 Act.  Many other babies are buried in the specific plot in question and would require to be exhumed and tested for DNA matches.  In addition, the expert analysis makes it clear that adjacent plots would also have to be disrupted, with the potential for disturbing another very significant number of burials.  It is obvious that the distress to the next of kin of the many children involved could be enormous.

It is also clear that the scale of the exercise from a technical standpoint would be daunting, could last some months, and would be fraught with complications.  Moreover, considerable uncertainty exists as to whether evidence of any material value to a prosecution could successfully be obtained from the exercise.

The Minister said "In making this decision, I would like to emphasise that I am not in any way minimising the tragedy of this baby's death but I cannot stand over an exhumation project which would cause such extensive distress and face such an uncertain outcome."

8 June 2006.