Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This time last week, I asked the Taoiseach to give a voice to the voiceless and tonight he did so. I welcome the heartfelt and genuine apology he made as the Taoiseach and a citizen of the State. His apology is owed to all of the women concerned. He has given a voice to those whose voice was stolen from them and in finding their voice, the survivors of the Magdalen laundries and their supporters have shown great courage, dignity and inspiration. Those of us who have met the women in recent years could not help but be inspired and humbled by the manner in which they have approached their experience. I have never seen the Gallery as alive or emotional as it was when the Taoiseach spoke. There were tears of joy at this achievement, which is a compliment to the Taoiseach.

Over the weekend, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, set a high bar for the person charged with the task Mr. Justice Quirke has since been appointed to complete. I believe Mr. Justice Quirke will reach the bar and bring great experience to the role. The job specification and timeframe within which he must deliver is challenging. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, addressed some of the more practical questions we had on the role of Mr. Justice Quirke.

The Government's commitment to have a memorial is appropriate. It should not be a statue or monument but a living memorial, somewhere where the testimonies of all of those who were in the laundries and institutions is recorded for posterity. This will ensure that once this generation, which has learned so much from the survivors and their stories, passes, subsequent generations will not forget and will be able to read and see the survivors' testimony. We need a living as well as a physical memorial, and a proper scheme that is delivered quickly will also serve as a living memorial. I welcome the Minister's commitment to ensure the scheme will be non-adversarial. The survivors have endured enough adversity and fought long enough to reach this stage. Tonight, we remember those who were in the institutions and have gone to a better place. They and their families are in our thoughts.

I welcome the Government's commitment to establish and fund the step-by-step centre for those living in the United Kingdom. It is one of the features of the Magdalen women that many of them left the country that abandoned them so many years ago. Tonight, as those of them who live abroad look in, I welcome the commitment to the step-by-step centre and hope those who are living in countries other than the UK will receive the same service.

I welcome the commitment to include in the scheme women who were in the Stanhope Street laundry. It was one of the ironies of the McAleese process - I compliment former Senator McAleese - that the laundry which provided all of the images used to depict Magdalen laundries was excluded from the report. The inclusion tonight of Stanhope Street is welcome. I seek clarification on whether survivors of another laundry in Wexford will be included in the scheme.

Many people have walked the journey and tonight is their night. Many have given a voice to the ladies in question and many groups have given them a chance. Film makers brought their stories to life in a way that was precluded before technology. Tonight is a night for the women and their families who went through this journey in so much secrecy and pain for many years. Today, in The Irish Times, James Smith from Justice for Magdalenes cited the following poem by Patricia Burke Brogan from the play "Eclipsed":

Make Visible the Tree/ This is the Place of Betrayal.

Roll back the stone/ behind madonna blue walls.

Make visible the tree.

Above percussion of engines

from gloom of catacombs

through a glaze of prayer,

scumble of chanting,

make visible the tree,

its branches ragged

with washed-out linens

of a bleached shroud.

In this shattered landscape,

sharpened tongues

of sulphur-yellow bulldozers

slice through wombs

of blood-soaked generations.

This is the place

where Veronica,

forsaken, stares and stares

at a blank towel.

The tree is now visible and the stone has been rolled back but the work must go on. If we are finally to make the tree fully visible, we must see through tonight's announcements fairly and quickly as the people concerned do not have time.

Last week, Deputies from all parties read into the record some of the testimonies. We ended with the simple words "We believe". We believe every one of the survivors. Tonight, the country believes. Tonight is their night.

See this speech in context