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The site of the mass grave in Tuam, Co Galway Niall Carson

TD calls for Tuam mass grave to be declared a crime scene

Catherine Murphy was among those to call for a full public inquiry into the situation.

INDEPENDENT TD CATHERINE Murphy has called for the mass grave discovered on the site of a former Bon Secours mother and baby home in Tuam to be declared a crime scene.

Murphy said the only reason this has not already happened is because the grave is associated with a religious order.

The deputy said that the 800 babies buried there were “starved” and “discarded” as though they were “sub-human”.

Murphy said we needed to “call it what it is” and launch a full public inquiry.

Why has this not been declared a crime scene? It needs to be declared a crime scene.

She made the comments in the Dáil today where Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin was answering Leaders’ Questions.

Howlin said the government was “ruling nothing out” but would not commit to a full public inquiry until the interdepartmental group, established yesterday to review the issue, reports back by the end of this month.

c murphy jun 4

He added that its review would determine whether or not an inquiry would need to look into the practices at more mother and baby homes.

‘Appalling’

Howlin described the situation in Tuam as a “shocking, unacceptable and appalling” incident that “jars all of us to our core”.

He said that criminal proceedings would go ahead “if deemed appropriate by the gardaí”.

Murphy said that the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald and acting Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan should both make public statements on the issue.

Sinn Féin’s Sandra McLellan stated that Tuam was “not an isolated case”.

We simply don’t know how may of these mass graves might exist.

She said that a full public inquiry was the ”only conceivable course of action” that would “shine a light on the dark secrets of mother and baby homes”.

howlin june 5 Brendan Howlin

Howlin insited that the government would act to ”reveal those dark days with clarity and with purpose”.

Related: Multiple government departments to deal with ‘deeply disturbing revelations’ of child burials

Read: Mary Lou McDonald warns that Tuam mass grave could be one of ‘dozens’

Background: ‘It’s time to do something’ – The forgotten mass grave of 800 babies in Galway

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    Mute Mary Lyons
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:33 PM

    The tech guides go right over my head even though I am the one who needs them most!!

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    Mute Byyys
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:29 PM

    If you’ve limited space and have to delete photos or Apps to make room, then just buy a MicroSD card.. (I have a 64GB SD card with plenty of space left) Apple wont allow the use of SD cards with iPhones or no USB support either to easily transfer Photos to PC!

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    Mute Kelvin Collins
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:35 PM

    However you can set up iCloud to automatically copy all photos to a PC as they’re shot, meaning you have a back up and can delete off your phone if you so wish. No need for any cables or leads!

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    Mute Byyys
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:43 PM

    iCloud?…. Naaaah ill keep my privacy/data to myself and do it the old fashioned way with leads!

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    Mute Kelvin Collins
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:49 PM

    You got some dodgy photos you want to keep secret?

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    Mute LittleBlackPetal
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:56 PM

    I’ve this problem with my phone now, and don’t really trust backing them up to Google or anything. Would you trust an sd card from eBay? Is an sd card and usb key the best way to go?

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    Mute LittleBlackPetal
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:57 PM

    Does everyone not have dodgey photos that they want to keep secret?! :-/

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    Mute andrew haire
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:41 PM

    Don’t take too many photos. Live in the moment.

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    Mute Ken Peacham
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    Apr 15th 2015, 1:09 PM

    I use an app called Clean Master (Android) great for sorting and deleting duplicate pics – also keeps the rest of your phone clean of junk

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    Mute mahonez
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    Apr 15th 2015, 5:28 PM

    For precious pics that I really want to save, I email them to myself. Or upload to Dropbox. Or print em out. Crap amount of storage in iPhone 5c, so I have to try and sort and delete pics often.

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