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

I thought the Minister might give that answer. Obviously, the applications must be processed, but it is now ten months since the Taoiseach made the apology to the survivors of these laundries. Many of the survivors are asking whether they will ever see their redress. Two of the women concerned have died, sadly, without seeing a red cent, much less the support services promised under the scheme. Will the Minister be a little more precise? When can survivors expect to receive not only their monetary payments but also to have access to the services?

I have a related question with regard to disputes in respect of a woman's length of stay in one of these laundries. Where does the balance of proof lie? I have a letter from a woman who spent a considerable length of time in the Good Shepherd laundry in Limerick. She is in dispute over the length of stay. The records in these laundries were vastly incomplete and women should not be penalised for the fact that these institutions did not keep, and cannot produce, full records.

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