Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Collins for sharing time. There is an irony, as a number of Government speakers have noted, in the fact that we are debating this in a week when the entire machinery of the Oireachtas is being mobilised to ensure we get the necessary legislation passed for the referendum on children's rights, a referendum which is a direct consequence of many of the reports which are being cited here today and which dealt with acts that happened over many decades in this country's recent history.

It would be preferable if the House did not have to divide on this issue tomorrow. I again appeal to the Minister to see whether there can be any interaction with the Office of the Attorney General before 9 p.m. tomorrow to ensure an agreed wording can be drawn up.

The Justice for Magdalenes report summarises in horrific detail the reality for many of these women and their families - not just the families of the time but of today.

It outlines the extent of the State's involvement in the Magdalene laundries. There was direct State financial support through the payment of capitation grants, while indirect financial support was provided through other means. The laundries were used for incarceration and there was a failure on the part of the State to insist that the laundries complied with health and safety legislation, as referred to by Deputy Collins. The State also failed to ensure that the children were educated, that tax and social welfare payments were collected from the laundries or that death certificates were issued by the laundries. There are unmarked graves in this city and elsewhere on this island and as a direct consequence of that, memories have been lost.

The point made by many Deputies is that this is not an historic event. This still goes on. Tonight there are people such as Maisie, who reports that she still suffers from nightmares 50 years later. In her dreams, she is locked in and cannot get out. She says that she cannot believe it still haunts her at her age, but "...it never leaves you...". Attracta says she feels very bitter and that Ireland let her down. Her husband says that she still cries at night and wakes up crying and that it has effected all of her life.

There was no way out. When people tried to escape, as they did, they were caught by gardaí. One of the generous aspects of the Justice for Magdalenes submission is that they do not hold individual gardaí accountable. They want the force to respond. The forces of the State were mobilised to bring these people back into their prisons, which they are still in metaphorically tonight.

I thank Deputy McDonald for giving us the opportunity to discuss this matter. Deputy O'Sullivan has just joined us and I know that both Deputies have been very involved in this issue. I have absolutely no doubt that Senator Martin McAleese is giving this his full commitment. He was an inspired choice to lead this inquiry. I also have no doubt of the commitment of those in Government who are working on this issue. However, I doubt the institutions of the State. When I hear of cross-departmental committees, I get worried because immediately a defensive mechanism which is in-built in the institutions of the State kicks in. There is some sort of innate inability to acknowledge our role in this. We cannot acknowledge our debt to these people. We cannot admit or contemplate the fact that these women and their families are still living that nightmare. The motion before us puts the machinery of the State on notice that this Oireachtas will not waver. This Oireachtas has a moral mandate to deliver to these people and to account for the mistakes of previous Oireachtais and the machinery of Government.

In an article in The Irish Timestoday, Fintan O'Toole asks, "How long must they wait before the stain of the laundries is washed clean?". This Oireachtas is putting the machinery of Government on notice that we intend to do that. I know of the personal commitment of some of the Deputies on the other side of the House but we do not have a lot of time for a meaningful debate and response. Debate takes time and these women are owed their cleanliness moment and their dignity. I ask the Minister to ensure that when the report is published it is not passed off to some other interdepartmental committee for a report or response. I urge her to act on it so the 31st Dáil can say it gave these women back their dignity.

See this speech in context