Video – Hundreds attend vigil for those who died in mother and baby homes

HUNDREDS of people, including victims and survivors, marched from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to Leinster House on Wednesday to take part in a candlelit vigil in remembrance of all those who died in Mother and Baby Homes.

The march was timed to coincide with a debate taking place inside the Dáil tabled by Sinn Féin, demanding the establishment of a judicially-led statutory inquiry into all Mother and Baby Homes in the state.

Other survivors packed the public gallery in the Dáil chamber to listen to the debates.

Speaking in the chamber, Mary Lou McDonald said:

"We as a society have questions to answer and lessons to learn from our negligence and cruelty. But ultimately, this abuse happened with the knowledge and clear sanction of the State.

"Recognition of that responsibility and an appropriate expression of collective remorse, in the form of a State apology, need not and must not wait for the inquiry’s final findings. Remedy and redress must also be timely," she said.

"Ageing survivors deserve some form of appropriate reparation before it is too late. Likewise, official commemoration should proceed swiftly. The dignity of identity must be afforded to every infant or child of these institutions that now lies in an unmarked grave."