Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As a public representative I am often required to speak and debate on matters on which I might not hold a professional qualification or even have personal experience. No one is capable of being an expert on every topic. I feel comfortable informing myself to the best of my ability and forming a judgment, yet there are some topics, regardless of how much I read or how much research I do, that I feel I can never fully understand. The Magdalene issue is one such topic. Some facts are known and they are almost incomprehensible. More than 30,000 women and girls were incarcerated in those institutions, enduring forced labour, brutal conditions and enforced confinement. They lived with a cultural stigma that attached such deep shame that many begged to be sent to prison rather than to the laundries.

As a representative for Galway West I thought it appropriate to read the following extract from the report of Justice for Magdalenes, which I re-read today.

[T]he Mother Superior of the convent operating the Magdalene Laundry in Galway in 1958 [said] that seventy per cent of the women in that Laundry were “unmarried mothers”. [...] When asked whether a woman or girl could leave whenever she chose, the Mother Superior stated “No, we’re not as lenient as that. The girl must have a suitable place to go. [...] Some stay for life”.

That the life of any person could be so flippantly treated, rights so casually abused and liberties so easily disregarded is horrifying. When I was a member of Galway City Council the following motion was passed with unanimous support: "That Galway City Council calls on the Government and the Catholic Church to (a) issue formal apologies for the abuse inflicted on women and young girls in the Magdalen Laundries and (b) establish a distinct redress scheme for all survivors." I stand by those sentiments today. They are the sentiments of the people of Galway. The State cannot deny that it has a liability in the issue or that there was State complicity in the use of the laundries for those activities and that what was going on was known to the State in some fashion, at least enough to prove neglect and liability.

I acknowledge the bravery and courage of those women who have campaigned for justice, not just for themselves but for others. It cannot be easy. The persistent reminder of the abuse they have suffered in the course of their campaign must be extremely difficult. I accept the Government's request that Senator Martin McAleese and his committee be allowed finish their report so as to allow a full and proper debate. I am told the report will be finished by the end of this year at the latest. It is on that contention that I seek some satisfaction. However, I warn that any delay beyond the end of the year would be utterly and completely unacceptable.

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