Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

According to the McAleese report there was no single or simple story of the Magdalen laundries. A system of slavery, servitude and enforced labour is the single, simple story of the Magdalen laundries. I am glad that the Taoiseach recognised that in the apology given on behalf of the State concerning that era when women were subjected to such treatment over the decades. The women in the Visitors Gallery really said it all by welcoming the apology. That will make the difference.

Whether a girl or a woman was put into the laundries by the criminal justice system, the Legion of Mary, a parish priest or family members, their human rights are equal to those of anybody else. Church and State ignored these women's rights over the decades.

State inspectors visited these institutions to check them, but walked out and said nothing. The Garda accepted the status quo and implemented it. I remember seeing a picture of the Magdalen women at some church event, with a line of gardaí beside them so that they could not run away. If they did try to run away they would be pulled back in again. That must have been a terrible situation to face for young women who did not know why they were there. The same applies to others in industrial reform schools and psychiatric institutions. The Bethany homes have not been mentioned here but they should be referenced in this regard.

This was an Ireland that ignored the League of Nations' 1926 convention on abolishing slavery. It was ratified in 1930. It also ignored the International Labour Organization's convention on forced labour, which was ratified in 1931. It was aimed at suppressing the use of force in regard to compulsory labour. It also ignored the European Convention on Human Rights in 1953. Despite this, church and State allowed the laundries to continue, ignoring the rights to liberty and freedom from arrest and detention. They also ignored the right to be free from criminal, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as the right to respect for family life and the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community.

We are collectively responsible for the wrongs done to all the women of the Magdalen laundries. They will obtain redress and will have an enforceable right to compensation. Some 20 months ago, the European Court of Human Rights gave the State a year to rectify this matter. I welcome the Taoiseach's statement that Mr. Justice John Quirke will make recommendations within three months. The terms of reference have not been set out, but I hope they will be those advocated by the Justice for Magdalenes group which has called for a dedicated unit within the Department of Justice and Equality to facilitate access to pensions and unpaid wages, as well as services including houses and medical cards. They also want a commission for financial reparation and the preservation of historical records. In addition, they are insisting on a transparent and accountable appeals process.

The four orders should apologise and should play a part in the redress scheme. We must insist, however, that this would not delay any movement by the State to provide funding.

I salute the women who never gave up believing in themselves. They recognised themselves as human beings. I do not know if I would have had the strength to fight on this issue over such a long period. We see, hear and believe them.

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