Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are all aware that Bethany Home is a different scenario from the Magdalen laundries because it was a mother and baby home but they share one core similarity and that is the ongoing delay by Government in delivering justice to the survivors and victims. I cannot understand how the Taoiseach can stand up here and say that the Minister is still considering, cogitating and pondering Bethany Home. He has been supplied with all the information, testimonials and historical documentation in respect of the horrendous abuses that happened in that home. It is not good enough for the Taoiseach to come in week in, week out and month in, month out and kick this issue to touch. He needs to bring forward a date by which the Government will reach a decision. I hope it is not because he is trying to long-finger the issue to the extent that people will just go away, die off or stop demanding justice. That is not going to happen.

When Magdalen survivors heard the Taoiseach's very eloquent apology here when he spoke about how he understood that very many of them were older and some of them were in very poor health, they assumed he understood the need for speed in this matter. The Government has had the report for a month and the Taoiseach says it might consider it in two weeks time and has not given a definitive date for its publication. That is not good enough and does not tally with the Taoiseach's apology and the sentiment of this Dáil across all parties when the survivors were here in February. Why can the Taoiseach not consider and publish the report now and put in place the redress scheme the women so richly deserve? Finally, why can he not deal with Bethany Home? If he is not minded to deal with those victims, he should say so but he should not keep playing games with victims and people who have been so grievously hurt.

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