This article first appeared on Galway Bay FM

Approximately 110 people have come forward to give their DNA to the team overseeing the excavation of the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam

The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention has confirmed that samples have been taken from 18 people so far

The challenging excavation of the site where 800 children could be buried began on July 14th and is expected to take at least two years.

The Irish Times is reporting that at present the Tuam team is only collecting DNA samples from elderly or vulnerable people but samples will soon be taken from a wider pool of relatives.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the team said the identification programme would commence soon, in accordance with the staged approach of the Institutional Burials Act 2022