A memorial garden is to be created at the old Holy Angels plot in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, to remember the 50,000 babies buried there.
The decision to go ahead with the development was made yesterday by Dublin Cemeteries Committee and has been welcomed by the Irish Stillbirth and Neo-natal Death Society.
Ms Ron Smith-Murphy, former chairwoman of the organisation, said there was "overwhelming support" for the proposed development by the majority of parents and relatives concerned.
She said the plot would not be used for any more burials. According to Ms Smith-Murphy, due to the recent publicity, the society has received a large number of phone calls in the past two days from parents who are now trying to trace the burial place of their baby for the first time.
Some of these babies were buried in the 1950s.
"I'm happy for the parents that have been coming here for years, as well as for the parents from all over the country that haven't yet traced their babies. This has given them that opportunity," said Ms Smith-Murphy.
The plot was used for the burial of stillborn babies from the 1820s to the 1970s.
According to Mr George McCullough, chairman of the Dublin Cemeteries Committee, work is necessary because in recent times the graves have been subsiding and it has become more difficult for loved ones to access the graves.
Ms Smith-Murphy said that increasing numbers of people were leaving memorials to mark the grave of their individual babies and, while their actions were very understandable, it was unfair to other parents.
There are approximately 35 to 50 babies buried in each grave.
The development of a garden will now allow all babies to be acknowledged equally.
All memorials have to be removed to facilitate the creation of the garden. According to Mr John Kinahan, secretary of Dublin Cemeteries Committee, parents will be given the opportunity to remove the memorials themselves until work begins on September 14th.
Parents will in future be able to honour their baby by having the name engraved on a memorial stone.
Parents can easily trace whether their baby is buried in the Glasnevin plot, as well as the exact location of the grave, if they provide the name of the hospital where the baby was born as well as the approximate date of birth to the society.
The society can be contacted at 01-8224688.