Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion, but I regret that it has been made necessary by what I can only describe as the wholly inadequate response of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice and Equality to the publication of the McAleese report last week. There is no excuse whatever for the mean-spirited and defensive utterances of the Taoiseach and the Minister. No doubt, they would prefer if we thought of it as an initial response drawn up by civil servants who were conscious of possible legal implications and liabilities for the State. However, this was not a standard cut and paste script delivered by a Minister of State in response to a mundane Topical Issue. It was supposed to be a response to a long-awaited report on a decidedly important matter that had exposed the neglect of the State in its duty of care to women and children for several decades.

I listened with despair to the Taoiseach and the Minister citing statistics from the report regarding the committals to the Magdalen laundries, as if these somehow absolved or partially absolved the State from its responsibilities. They seemed to seize eagerly on the rather questionable finding in the report that the laundries had not made a profit. So what? If that were the case, would it in any way absolve either the State or the religious orders which ran these hellish institutions? No, it certainly would not.

I salute the dignity of the survivors of the Magdalen laundries and their representatives who had to face further disappointment, on top of all the hurt and pain, delivered by the Government's response. They did not allow this to outweigh the significance of the McAleese report which has shown beyond any doubt whatsoever that the State was deeply implicated in the scandal. The report confirmed what most people already knew and accepted from the testimony of the survivors, that is, that the State bore a significant responsibility. The laundries could not have operated without State approval, encouragement and support during the years. This is not something confined to a distant era; it went on well into our time. Only a few years ago the State was in denial when summoned before the UN Committee against Torture, the landmark ruling of which advanced the case of the survivors significantly.

I recall raising this matter on several occasions. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has suggested Sinn Féin only recently noted this issue. I refute this absolutely and it is terrible that she would try to cast such a slur. I remind her that in July 2011 I hosted a briefing for her and other Deputies, Senators and their support staff in Leinster House in order that they would know the full story of the Magdalen laundries. Some of those who spoke at that event are in the Visitors Gallery and I salute them for their tenacity during all this time. I said at the time that it was the hard work of Justice for Magdalenes that conclusively disproved the State's claims that the women concerned had been in the institutions voluntarily or solely at the behest of their families. That fiction was firmly laid to rest thanks to documents uncovered by Justice for Magdalenes. I acknowledge the great work of and the stoic pursuit of this issue by Justice for Magdalenes.

In July 2011 I described the Government's promise of a long-overdue investigation as welcome. However, I also said at the time that it was regrettable that the Government did not see fit to issue an apology with its announcement, something with which the Minister of State would have wholly concurred.

On 25 September last year we in Sinn Féin tabled a comprehensive Dáil motion on this matter, calling again for a proper acknowledgement by the State. Now we have the McAleese report which is damning. Its findings show that 8.1% of the women concerned were sent to these so-called laundries from the criminal justice system, of whom the large majority were referred for petty or minor offences. In some cases, the Garda brought women to the laundries on an ad hoc or informal basis. Clearly, the justice system and the Garda were deeply involved. Equally clear was the involvement of the Department of Education at the time. It is not only a matter of the figures included in the report. I cannot for one moment remove from my assessment the notion that priests and members of religious orders were in some way separate from the State. It was a single mass entity, channelling the women concerned into the institutions. Shame on all concerned.

I note that the Taoiseach has today castigated the proposers of the motion. Fianna Fáil certainly is deserving of severe criticism for its inaction on the issue while in office. However, the Taoiseach has no grounds whatsoever for the attack made today, given his decision to give what I can only describe as an offensive response last week following publication of the report. He could easily have issued a simple and forthright apology on behalf of the State and in so doing he would have been speaking on behalf of all of us.

I welcome the dialogue now under way between the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and, albeit, some of the survivors and their representatives but, make no mistake, the only acceptable outcome will be a full and unreserved apology and a comprehensive redress scheme. There should be recognition of the unpaid and unpensioned work done by the women, of the injustice done to them and the need for the State to support their health and social welfare needs.

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