Joanne Hayes to sue State over Kerry Babies accusation
Joanne Hayes, the woman wrongly accused of murdering a baby in Kerry in the 1980s, is to sue the State for damages.
Sources confirm that the Hayes family of Abbeydorney, Co Kerry, has initiated legal action for damages and for amendments to be made to the 1985 report of Tribunal of Enquiry into the handling of the Kerry Babies investigation by gardaí.
Writs against the Garda Commissioner, the DPP, the Minister for Justice, the Attorney General and the State have been lodged with the High Court.
They were lodged this week after what was described by sources as a “clearly unsatisfactory” response from the State over the past 12 months since a garda apology was given to Ms Hayes, along with a State apology.
Despite these apologies, Ms Hayes has yet to receive compensation.
The unexpected apology in January 2018 coincided with the reopening of the investigation into the death of the baby found on the White Strand in Cahersiveen in April 1984.
The family want the inquiry report corrected.
The Hayes family are also seeking financial redress for the treatment they endured.
It is understood five members of the Hayes family are parties to the suit and they include Ms Hayes' then-toddler daughter Yvonne, as well as her siblings Michael, Kathleen and Edmund.
The solicitor acting on behalf of the family, Patrick Mann of Tralee, said he would not comment on the decision to sue the State when contacted.
The lawsuit comes despite public apologies from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and the gardaí in January 2018.
The apologies were made after a garda review of DNA evidence proved that Ms Hayes was not the mother of the child at the centre of the case.
Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin wrote to Hayes family to formally apologise to her on behalf of An Garda Síochána.
Superintendent Flor Murphy, at a press conference last year, said it is "a matter of significant regret for An Garda Síochána that it has taken such a long time for it to be confirmed that Ms Hayes is not the mother of Baby John”.
"On behalf of An Garda Síochána, I would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Hayes for that, as well as the awful stress and pain she has been put through as a result of the original investigation into this matter, which fell well short of the required standards."
Following the press conference, Leo Varadkar said Joanne Hayes had been treated very badly by the State.
“I absolutely want to reiterate the apology to Joanne Hayes made by the gardaí and do so on behalf of the Irish State," he said.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said that Ms Hayes' "prolonged ordeal" was "simply wrong on every level".
The baby found on White Strand Beach near Cahersiveen was later named Baby John. He had been stabbed 28 times.
Ms Hayes, who buried her stillborn son on her family's farm without telling anybody, was wrongly charged with his murder.
