The Taoiseach has made a formal state apology to the victims and survivors of Mother and Baby Homes.
Micheál Martin told the Dáil that basic kindness was not shown to vulnerable women by either church or state.
The Taoiseach described the treatment of these women as a flagrant breach of human rights.
He said an apology is not enough and committed to responding to the recommendations of the Commission on Mother and Baby Homes' report.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin made a formal apology on behalf of the state this afternoon.
"The Irish State, as the main funding authority for the majority of these institutions, had the ultimate ability to excerpt control over these institutions.
"This authority was not excerpted and the States duty of care was not upheld.
"The State failed you - the Mothers and Children in these homes."
The Sisters of Bon Secours say they failed to live up to their Christianity when running the Mother and Baby Home in Tuam. Co Galway.
They've apologised for the disrespectful way children who died at the facility were buried, and say they are willing to participate in a redress scheme for survivors.
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Tuam has apologised for the suffering and pain caused and asked for forgiveness.
He said the Church failed in its responsibility to love and cherish them and did not serve with compassion.
While the Bishop of Cork and Ross Fr Fintan Gavin is appealing to legislators to make it possible to share birth and baptism records legally with survivors and their families.
Carlow Kilkenny TD Kathleen Funchion was in the Dail for the Toaiseachs apology.
"Mother and Baby Homes were not homes, they were detention centers.
"A home is somewhere where you are supposed to feel safe, loved and protected. Not a place where you are tortured, imprisoned and forced to give birth in the most appalling conditions - often without medical support or even basic pain relief.
"These walls hid torture, deprivation and humiliation on a colossal scale.
"Human rights did not exist in these centres."
Historian and campaigner Catherine Corless has said mother and baby home survivors were very hurt by Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s comments on Tuesday.
Earlier this week Ms Corless says that a broader apology was needed, highlighting the role of the Church and State in the institutions rather than putting so much weight on the role of society in general.
She said: “He specifically pointed out society in general, and the parents and grandparents of these survivors. They were very, very hurt over that. They all have their own stories. They gave their own stories, like how it was impossible for their mothers to stay in the village because of the Church and the attitudes they created at the time.”
Mother and baby homes produced high levels of infant mortality, misogyny and stigmatisation of some of society’s most vulnerable, an independent report published on Tuesday said.
Many of the homes were run by Catholic nuns.
The commission of investigation report found “appalling” levels of death among the very youngest, more than one in 10 of children present.
From her research she was aware of many of the details so they had not come as a surprise, she said. But she was disappointed that the report was “a little bit vague” about the issue of illegal adoption.
“There’s a lot of people disappointed it wasn’t gone into in a little more detail in the report.
“I’ve said it over and over again, they need an acknowledgement from the people that hurt them and put them in this situation. That’s first and foremost, and that hasn’t come out as yet.”
The Commission of Investigation's final report into 18 Mother and Baby Homes found an appalling level of infant mortality, with 9,000 deaths recorded.
It also recommended redress be provided to survivors - either financial or in the form of enhanced services.
The Sisters of Bon Secours says it will contribute to that.
It ran St Mary’s Mother and Baby Home in Tuam -a site where the remains of hundreds of babies were found in the chamber of a septic tank.
The sisters have said they are deeply sorry for the unacceptable way children were buried there, and said they did not live up to their Christianity when running the Home.
The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary - which ran homes in Bessborough, Roscrea and Castlepollard have also apologised "to those who did not get the care and support they deserved" from those running the homes.
The Daughters of Charity, meanwhile, says it regrets that it did not do more to ease the suffering of women that were unjustifiably rejected by society,
Yesterday's report found no evidence of abuse at the mother and baby home in Dunboyne, and the Good Shepherd Sisters who ran the facility have complemented their sisters for the dedication and care they provided over 3 decades.
