A new report out today reveals the extent of infant death rates at one of Ireland's infamous mother and baby homes.

The Irish Examiner claims that 68 per cent of all children at the Bessborough home in Cork City died in the year 1943.

The Government is expected to sign off on the terms of reference for an inquiry into the historical institutions this autumn.

The homes have become the focus of intense scrutiny since the recent discovery of a mass grave in Galway, where it's thought hundreds of bodies may be buried.

Journalist Conall Ó Fátharta used the Cork County Archive to unearth the latest development in the story:

The reports indicates that staff did have not have adequate nursing qualifications with some not registered with the state and others having no experience in infant hygiene or dietetics.

Concern was also expressed about nuns boarding out children as young as six weeks old to foster parents.

Although the reports confirm that the State was aware of the high mortality rate, it was only shut down briefly in the mid-to-late 1940's.