Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Justice from Magdalenes survivors advocacy group has asked for a dignified debate on this motion to take place in the Chamber this evening and tomorrow evening. It is no less that we can do for these remarkable individuals who have always shown enormous grace and dignity in their dealings with this issue. They have stayed with it and made progress with it over the years. Without doubt, the era under discussion is one of the most shameful and distressing periods in our country's short history. It defies belief. It must be extremely upsetting for the people concerned and their families to think of the abuse, torture, neglect and societal stigma that were endured by those who were pushed away from the norms of society. These places were not intended to be used as prisons. No court orders were ever secured. These people were there against their will. They were put there to be kept out of the way. It further compounds our sense of disbelief to think that the people behind this abuse acted in the names of God, Jesus Christ and clerics of various descriptions.

As I said in the Seanad previously, this is our own holocaust. What was inflicted on these people was atrocious. There is no other way of describing it. As Deputy Buttimer pointed out, the last laundry closed in 1996, which is not that long ago. There will be a great deal of debate on the children's rights referendum in this Chamber and outside it in the weeks to come. In recent weeks, a senior cleric in Galway had the temerity to say that he had thought paedophilia was a step of friendship gone too far. That is the context in which we should reflect on the shameful behaviour of those who occupied positions of trust and respect in Irish society. Those who hid behind religion mocked it when they inflicted this kind of misery on people. It is shameful. I sincerely hope these people, many of whom are still around, hang their heads in shame at the thought that they went through this life inflicting such misery on others and engaging in such rank hypocrisy. It is disgraceful.

Many of the victims, or survivors as they have correctly been termed during this debate, never again saw their own families after they were incarcerated and, in effect, taken for slave labour purposes. They were worked to the bone for 10 hours a day, six days a week. They were completely cut off from what was happening outside these institutions. The initial trauma of being brought from one's community and one's home into these places must have been compounded by being used as slave labour. It makes the blood boil to think that capitalists who hid behind the name of religion profited from this free labour. The survivors are no longer physically incarcerated in these institutions but many of them have continued to feel forgotten and abandoned in the past and in the present. The lack of political conviction displayed by successive Administrations has compounded that sense of stigma and exploitation.

As we try to bring an element of dignity to this debate, we must acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy Shatter, established the interdepartmental group within three weeks of the formation of this Government. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, worked like a Trojan on this issue in opposition and is continuing to do so in government. I believe that deserves to be acknowledged by those who tabled the motion this evening. I hope the fine and eloquent contribution made by the Minister of State in explaining the amendment she has moved will not be lost on them. I am trying to be as restrained as I can when I say I sincerely hope that those who tabled this motion will always practice what they preach when it comes to the misery that has been inflicted on these people and on people in other sectors of this country in recent years.

I would like to quote from one of the victims who spoke out about her experience in a Magdalene Laundry:

Those places were the Irish gulags for women. When you went inside their doors you left behind your dignity, identity and humanity. We were locked up, had no outside contacts and got no wages, although we worked 10 hours a day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year. What else is that but slavery? And to think that they were doing all this in the name of a loving God.

A report on the Magdalene laundries that was published by the Irish Human Rights Council approximately two years ago provided further evidence of State complicity in the grave injustices that were visited upon the victims. It stated:

The treatment of these women and girls by the Religious Orders appears to have been harsh. They were reputedly forced to work long hours. Their names were often changed to a religious name, they were isolated from society and the girls were allegedly denied educational opportunities. The then Minister for Education and Science told the Oireachtas in 2001 that this treatment was abuse, that it involved an appalling breach of trust and that the victims suffered and continued to suffer.

Within a few short months this Government created the interdepartmental committee, independently chaired by Senator McAleese, and the advocacy group has recognised the important work Senator McAleese has carried out in this area. For reasons outlined by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and given the volume of work the committee has had to deal with, Senator McAleese has, naturally enough, sought an extension of time to deal with it.

Far from being a fig leaf, this is a genuine and constructive attempt by this Administration to deal with the appalling injustices in regard to the Magdalene laundries. I have no doubt that in the fullness of time these women will get the justice they deserve. I hope we can return to this issue in time and acknowledge that on the floor of this House.

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