The religious sisters who ran the Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork say they will not be commenting on reports that children who died as late as 1990 are buried in unmarked graves at St Finbarr's Cemetery in the city.
In a brief statement, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary said they "will continue to deal directly with the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes on all such matters".
Their comments follow a report in today's Irish Examiner claiming three grave plots have been uncovered at the city cemetery containing the remains of at least 21 children.
According to the report, one unmarked plot was purchased by the now closed St Anne's Adoption Society and contains the remains of three girls and one boy who died between 1979 and 1990.
The death certificate of the last child to be buried in the plot in 1990 notes that while she died at St Finbarr's Hospital in Cork, she was in the care of the nuns at Bessborough.
However, a birth entry for this child in the name given could not be found.
The second plot belongs to the former St Patrick's Orphanage run by the Mercy Sisters, which operated a nursery for St Anne's Adoption Society.
It contains 16 children who died between 1957 and 1978 but only one name is recorded on the grave.
The third plot is a non-perpetuity plot, meaning that it is un-owned.
The newspaper reports that it holds the remains of at least one child whose death certificate indicates she was in the care of the Bessborough home.
Earlier this month, the Mother and Baby Homes Commission said it would like to hear from anyone "who has personal knowledge, documentation or other information concerning the burial arrangements and/or burial places of children who died in Bessborough between 1922 and 1998", on or before 1 April next.
Commenting separately on today's newspaper report, the Sisters of Mercy said they would "deal directly with this commission on all related matters".
