Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Magdalene laundries are perhaps the most powerful symbol of the inhumanity and brutality which formed a part of Irish society in the 20th century. It is almost incomprehensible to my generation and to younger generations that such institutions were allowed to exist. Moreover, the laundry system was supported by the State through commercial contracts and, outrageously, through society's abandonment of vulnerable citizens for the most dubious of moral reasons.

Reading through the testimony of the experiences of the survivors which has been compiled by the Justice for Magdalenes support group one cannot but be ashamed of this stark aspect of our collective past. Trapped, abandoned, locked away and subjected to horrific abuse the women incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries were modern day slaves stripped of inherent rights and deprived of dignity.

The 1911 census of the Mercy laundry in Galway shows women of all ages, all Roman Catholic and from nearly every county in the country. Their home, such as it was, was Galway but not by choice. In 2009 in Galway, a sculpture was dedicated to the women who endured the Mercy laundry. The statue is of a woman in institutional drab clothes holding the sheet aloft to symbolise her enforced endless hours of work - a simple but provocative image.

The effects on those houses of mercy are still felt today. Testimony in the report from one Galway survivor states that she still suffers nightmares 50 years on. Another eye witness states that a nun used a strap to beat a woman who was depressed and could not work until she was hysterical. There are many examples of emotional and physical abuse, seclusion and humiliation of women.

The excellent work carried out by Justice for Magdalenes not only catalogues these experiences and their aftermath but also sets out a historical account of the laundries and notes how a frenzied public morality combined with a dominant religious force and an indifferent Government transformed 19th century refuges into 20th century prisons and labour camps. Furthermore, despite the assertions of a previous Government, the Justice for Magdalenes report demonstrates that the laundries were used by the courts as a place of so-called rehabilitation.

The detrimental effects blighted the lives of the women affected long after they had left these institutions. Health problems, both physical and mental, relationship difficulties and marriage breakdowns, as well as strained relations with families and friends, arose out of this despicable system. What is even more appalling is that some women were condemned to live out their entire lives in these institutions.

As a society, we must face the reality that the abuse that occurred in the Magdalene laundries was in the public domain just as the clerical abuse catalogued by the Murphy and Ryan reports was known to be happening.

The religious orders cannot be let off the hook in terms of providing financial support for their part in this abuse. This Government initiated the process when it established the interdepartmental committee chaired by Senator Martin McAleese. Regrettably, the conclusion of the committee's work has been delayed, which is perhaps inevitable as its work includes a large number of stakeholders as well as the identification and tracking of documents and records over several decades, but I am confident the committee will provide a comprehensive account of the State's involvement in the Magdalene laundries scandal and promote further debate from which restorative action will emerge. The survivors and their families are entitled to closure on their long campaign for justice and I hope this is forthcoming very soon.

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