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A junior minister has called for an urgent inquiry into the discovery of a mass grave containing the bodies of almost 800 children.

Ciaran Cannon said there needs to be a probe, including a Garda investigation, into the find at the mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway.

He added: “This is turning into a horrific account of maltreatment, neglect and a complete abdication of responsibility for the care of these very vulnerable young children.

“Doing nothing is simply not an option for us in Government when presented with details of this nature.

“We need to proceed with sensitivity but also with efficiency to

determine as best we can what happened to these children.”

796 children were found in a septic tank next to a home for the children of unmarried mothers.

New research looking at child death records has led to the grim conclusion that the bodies of hundreds of infants may have been placed by the Catholic nuns in the county.

The youngsters are all believed to have died from sickness or disease between 1926 and 1961.

The building was pulled down years ago and has now been replaced with a housing estate, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

The mass grave came to light following research by local woman Catherine Corless, who made separate Freedom of Information enquiries about the deaths.

Records suggest the home's septic tank was converted especially for the purpose of disposing of bodies, and bones were first found in 1975 when cement covering the tank was pulled away.

But once Catherine began looking at all the children whose place of death was recorded as "Children's Home, Tuam", she uncovered the shocking numbers that could have been buried in the mass grave.

She told the Mail: "There was just one child who was buried in a family plot in the graveyard in Tuam. That's how I am certain there are 796 children in the mass grave.

"These girls were run out of their family home and never taken back, so why would they take the babies back to bury them, either?"

She is now calling for a permanent memorial on the spot listing the names of all those who died.

The story has received coverage worldwide from publications such as the BBC and Al Jazeera.