Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. The purpose of this motion is to challenge the Government to act on the immediate measures necessary to support the survivors of the Magdalene laundries based on the information already in the public domain. To suggest this information is now virtually beyond dispute is almost an understatement. However, in spite of this the women and girls incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries have yet to receive an apology from the State and official acknowledgement of the injustices that were perpetrated upon them.

In his Fifth Report as Special Rapporteur as Child Protection to the Oireachtas, Mr. Geoffrey Shannon states:

The seriousness of the alleged abuses of the rights of these women and girls cannot be overstated. The allegations of forced labour in the laundries are of particular gravity... The detention and use of women and girls as workers without pay would amount to 'forced labour' under the 1930 Forced Labour Convention of the International Labour Organisation... It appears from the reports provided by these women and girls that their treatment constituted slavery.

He goes on to note that "The prohibition of slavery is a 'peremptory norm' of international law: that is a norm of state practice which is so fundamental that no derogation from it is ever permitted."

One could talk at length about the appalling injustices and crimes perpetuated against these women, the hopelessness of their lives, the cruelty and violence meted out to them on a daily basis and the lack of humanity which permeated virtually every aspect of their lives, but the fact is that the State is already aware of this appalling catalogue of information. This, of course, is to be expected as the State itself was actively involved in the perpetuation and reproduction of the Magdalene institutions. Thus, it is the specific responsibility of the State to make every effort to redress this grave injustice and in so doing, to atone for its past actions. Therefore, I call on the Government to act without further delay to implement the necessary supports that thus far have been denied these women.

A state that continues to deny these women long overdue justice and proper and adequate economic reparation for their forced labour seriously diminishes its own moral and ethical authority in the eyes of all its citizens. Irish society recognised some time ago the grave injustice perpetuated against these women. It is time for the Government to do the same and to act without further delay in the best interests of the women concerned and also in the overall interest of Irish society. It is in the interest of all decent Irish men and women that justice, even at this late stage, is seen to be done and this is in the final analysis the responsibility of the State.

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