Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is with profound acknowledgement of the findings of the McAleese report that I welcome the opportunity to speak. I thank Dr. Martin McAleese and his committee for their work in producing this long-awaited report, which provides us with an indepth exploration of one aspect of a period of silent and latent societal degradation.

The women and children housed in these institutions and subjected to uncompromising regimes of physical labour endured vast deprivation. Following examination of the report, we must consider the societal inheritance of these asylums by the Free State, entry routes into them and the way the State has treated the victims subsequently. The State has been slow to respond to the deprivation suffered by women from 1922 to 1996.

The problem has a deep foundation in our history. The phenomenon of asylums for those considered at odds with society was present from the 18th to the 20th century. Following Catholic Emancipation in 1829, these homes or refuges were increasingly institutionalised and came under the direct influence of religious orders. That these institutional constructs were ever acceptable is a testament to the societal structures of the time. The psychological degradation suffered by these unpaid young women and girls at their most vulnerable was immense. The treatment of the laundries as factories under the inspection regime of the Factory and Workshop Act 1907 is further proof of the industrial level of their output. That the 1907 legislation applied to the laundries shows how the early State augmented the institutions and asylums set up in our colonial past. While the Factory and Workshop Act 1907 applied to these institutions, the report draws our attention to the Truck Acts of 1831, 1837 and 1896, which hold that it is prohibited to pay workers in factories anything but "coin of the realm". The early State's selective use of legislation shows how responsibility rests with social attitudes in the transfer of power at the time.

The inspectorate under the Factory and Workshop Act was amended in 1955, superseding and augmenting some of the 1907 legislation, but there was no change to the status of the laundries as workplaces under the inspectorate. The past failure of the State to recognise the victims of the Magdalen laundries was based on the concept that the State had little or no involvement. The report of the interdepartmental committee chaired by Dr. McAleese delved deeply into the fabric of this social inheritance. The report concludes that a quarter of all referrals to the asylums were made by the State. A total of 14,607 women and girls were admitted, of which the report deals with 10,012. For the first time, this report has comprehensively proven the integrated involvement of the State and the religious orders. The lack of choices for women in the Magdalen laundries is evident from the State entry routes to the laundries. Rather than providing a duty of care to individuals, people were incarcerated as an unpaid workforce. These entry routes included industrial and reform schools. The mean age of entrants from reform schools was 17.8 years of age, which is incredible. The lack of options given to women was further proven when some young girls on discharge from industrial schools were sent to the laundries on being recalled. The lack of care and compassion afforded by the society of the time to women experiencing difficult and harrowing conditions can be viewed in other State entry routes, including the mother and baby homes, social services, hospitals and psychiatric institutions. The Magdalen laundry system constituted a convenient asylum for many of those who were most vulnerable and in need of care.

The inspectorate and the inmates testified that living conditions in the laundries were clean and sanitary. While this might have been the case, the accounts from survivors detail the methods of control used at the time. They were rarely physically abused, but many were subject to constant psychological degradation. Although the inspections may have compared the cleanliness of the laundries with that of hospitals, this concealed a workforce none of whose workers were paid. The laundries' management system, enforced by religious authorities, viewed the staff as charges to be optimised through their work output. According to their accounts, women who refused to work sometimes referred to this as "going on the wren" and they were punished by being sent to bed early without their supper. This constant sadistic attack on self-esteem, self-worth and dignity created a lasting humiliating legacy of poor self-confidence for many victims in their later lives.

As recently as 2001 the voices speaking of the circumstances these women suffered in their incarceration had gone unheard. This report vindicated the testimony of both Magdalen survivor groups and pioneering individuals, justified their case to validate their integrity and gave them a feasible right to dignity, which our Government upholds. This right resonates deeply with all facets of Irish society, but most especially the victims and survivors of these institutions. That chilling legend "Work will set you free" resonates from a darker time in Europe's history. Despite the less brutal nature of Ireland's labour camps, it is a legacy which should be remembered carefully and addressed appropriately by today's society. The fact that these structures were given such a large and obvious role in enforcing a moral authority which was so blatantly at odds with true Christianity is startling.

While hindsight grants many dispensations to the reality of that time, the truth for many women and children victimised by the laundries is that this is a cruel and uncompromising facet of our history. It is a legacy which this comprehensive report finally uncovers. It is important that this legacy is now addressed to the fullest extent in the ultimate knowledge and understanding of the hardships and deprivations suffered by these women. The response by the Government to the report has been thorough. The survivors have been allowed to express themselves and discuss the issues facing them with the Taoiseach in Dublin and London. It is heartening that after the experiences they endured they will now receive compensation. I welcome the appointment of Mr. Justice Quirke and look forward to his review.

In my contribution to a debate on the Magdalen laundries last year, I joined with others in asking for an apology, as I believe that is the least these women deserve, in addition to redress and restorative justice. I especially welcome the sincere and heartfelt apology by the Taoiseach on behalf of the Government, State and citizens just a week ago. It was a night never to be forgotten by any of us fortunate enough to have been present and especially not by the women and their families who waited for so many years to hear those words, finally acknowledging the truth of the State's involvement.

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