Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has rejected a request by the Dublin County Coroner to exhume the remains of a baby girl buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, 33 years ago.
The inquest into the baby's death was reopened last September after legal representations were made on behalf of Cynthia Owen, the woman who came forward 11 years ago claiming to be the mother of the baby girl (called Noleen).
Ms Owen has claimed the baby was one of two she gave birth to at a young age as a result of sexual abuse during the 1970s when she was living in Dalkey, in south Dublin. She has claimed the other infant was buried in the back-garden of her family home but a Garda search last year did not uncover any remains.
Mr McDowell rejected the request on the grounds 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".
He added, "Many other babies are buried in the specific plot in question and would require to be exhumed and tested for DNA matches."
The Minister consulted with the Garda, State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy and other relevant experts before arriving at his decision. "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."
He also said the exhumation did not guarantee identification of the infant's remains. On Tuesday, Dublin County Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty requested Mr McDowell to grant an exhumation order on the infant's remains in the Little Angels plot at Glasnevin Cemetery.
Meanwhile, the voluntary, independent body that owns and operates the cemetery, the Dublin Cemeteries Committee, welcomed the Minister's decision.
"It would have been political suicide if he signed that order. I spoke to him on the phone about it," said committee chief executive George McCullough. Mr McCullough had opposed the exhumation, saying it would cause great distress to the families of other infants buried there.
On Tuesday, Ms Owen welcomed Dr Geraghty's request for an exhumation order, saying, "It's about time that the truth in this case comes out". A legal representative for Ms Owen said yesterday she may comment in the coming days about the Minister's rejection of the exhumation.