A protest against the construction of a 140‑unit apartment development on the site of the Bessborough mother and baby home has been held outside Leinster House.
The 'No Building Over Bessborough" received support from across the Opposition benches and called for State intervention on the matter.
Developer Estuary View Enterprises has been granted permission for the large-scale residential development at Bessborough in Ballinure, Blackrock in Cork.
The development will involve the demolition of ten existing agricultural buildings and log cabin structures and the construction of 140 residential apartments across three blocks.
Two existing farmyard buildings are set to be redeveloped as amenities for residents.
This will include a library, a lounge, a workspace and a function space.
The planning has been granted by Cork City Council, subject to 70 conditions.
Labour senator Laura Harmon said her party will be lodging an appeal with Carmel Cantwell, whose mother was in Bessborough "so there can be no building on this sacred site".
Ms Harmon said it would "unacceptable" to "build over a "site like this".
She said it should be a memorial and "used for education".
"We should have schools going in there to learn about our shameful history and how we treated women," the senator said.
"We can't concrete over this part of our history," said Ms Harmon.
"We have a shameful history in this country in how we dealt with pregnancy, in terms of how we dealt with women who were pregnant who were unmarried at the time," she added.
"We need to get the truth out there. We need to ascertain how many babies are buried at Bessborough."
The senator said 859 babies who died in the home are still unaccounted for.
"We need answers in relation to this. The survivors need answers. The public need answers," she said.
Speaking at the protest, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald asked: "When does sorry mean sorry."
"It matters that the State understands that women and children are not second best," she added.
Earlier, People before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said: "As somebody who was born in a mother and baby home... I am very conscious of the sensitivity for those whose lives were wrecked by the church and state policies in this country."
He said the proposed build is "an insult to the trauma that they suffered".
