Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have all received correspondence from two extraordinary women, Maggie Woods from the Irish Thalidomide Association and Carmel Daly McDonnell from the Irish Thalidomide Survivors Society. The Irish Thalidomide Survivors Society has taken a more conciliatory approach, but it reports to us it has not seen much sign of conciliation from the Minister. Responses are not more readily forthcoming as a result of their conciliatory approach.

It is widely reported that in the aftermath of the first discussion and the first statement by the Taoiseach on the Magdalen issue that the Minister of State went to a Labour Party Parliamentary Party meeting and indicated her very strong dissatisfaction. She motivated many of her backbench colleagues to jump up and down and insist something meaningful be done for the survivors of the Magdalen laundries. I plead with her today to do the same thing for these 32 men and women who suffer on a daily basis as a result of the State having failed them for more than 50 years. The cost of doing justice will be minimal compared to the overall cost of State expenditure. We owe it to them. We have a moral obligation to do something for them. The Minister of State has the opportunity to do something about it and I trust her to do it.

See this speech in context