The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has called for a full inquiry into all of the country's mother and baby homes.

Dr Diarmuid Martin said that such an inquiry should be independent of the Church and State and should have full judicial powers.

His comments come following the recent controversy surrounding the deaths of almost 800 babies at a mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway. The deaths occurred at the home, which was run by the Bon Secours order of nuns, between 1925 and 1961.

Reports that the bodies of these children were left in a mass grave, including a septic tank, have made headlines around the world.

However, speaking on RTE Radio's This Week programme, Dr Martin said that there is no point in just investigating what happened in Tuam.

"The indications are that if something happened in Tuam, it probably happened in other mother and baby homes around the country, so that is why I believe that we need a full-bodied investigation.

"There is no point in just investigating what happened in Tuam and then next year finding out more. We have to look at the whole culture of mother and baby homes," he said.

He insisted that it is ‘very important' that any commission that is set up has full judicial powers.

"Otherwise you are going to get yourself entangled in a whole series of problems of data protections issues. If you don't do that from the beginning, you are going to get a commission that will stall," he said.

An initial inquiry has been established by the Government and the results of this are expected to determine how any future investigations will proceed.