Contract negotiations to secure a site for a laboratory as part of the exhumation of the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home are ongoing, the City Tribune understands.

While a site has been identified for the lab, which will be used for storage of remains exhumed from the grounds of the former Home, final confirmation of the location is on hold while ‘contractual issues’ are ironed out.

Preparatory works at the site of the former Bon Secours Home in Tuam got underway two weeks ago, with the excavation expected to get underway from July 14.

Speaking to the Tribune, Director of Authorised Intervention in Tuam, Daniel MacSweeney, said they were not in a position to comment on the location of laboratory facilities as yet.

“We have a commitment from the HSE to have a premises in the Tuam area and we are working towards that,” he said.

Mr MacSweeney said the Office for Authorised Intervention at Tuam (ODAIT) continued to liaise with survivors and families in relation to the excavation and would be providing updates as the scheme progresses.

“We are trying to be as transparent as possible to ensure that people affected are not surprised by what’s coming next,” he said.

Families of those believed to be interred at the former Home, and survivors of the facility, want answers, continued Mr MacSweeney

“There are a lot of people looking for answers for years and they are satisfied that they are getting towards that, but there is huge tragedy behind all of this

“For some families, there may not be answers and that is coming into view as well,” said Mr MacSweeney.

The excavation works were anticipated to take approximately two years to complete and there would be regular updates of progress, he added.

“There is not going to be a situation where we are announcing every day what we may have found that day, but we will have monthly updates.

“We want people to be informed but we don’t want the level of coverage to be hurtful to families and survivors,” said Mr MacSweeney.

A family and survivors’ day is due to take place at the site of the former Home on Tuesday next, to provide an opportunity for those most acutely affected to see what progress has been made on setting up for the excavation.

Local historian, Catherine Corless, whose research revealed the appalling conditions in which these children were buried, estimated that 796 children died at the home, which was owned by Galway County Council and operated, between 1925 and 1961, by the Catholic Religious Order, Bon Secours.

Pictured: Director of Authorised Intervention at Tuam, Daniel Mac Sweeney: Lab site identified but contractual details being sorted out.