Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach's historic, heartfelt and emotional apology to the women who suffered in the Magdalen laundries was one of the most moving experiences I, or those who have been long before me, have ever experienced in the Dáil. I welcome the progress made to date. What has been described in terms of what happened to these women was a national shame for every county and parish throughout Ireland where these women were sent, but 19 February 2013 is a very important day for former residents of the Magdalen laundries. It was the day the Government of this country believed those women. It was the day when the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, on behalf of the Government and the State, acknowledged their hurt and apologised for the suffering they experienced after being admitted to, and working in, a Magdalen laundry, and the stigma that followed them throughout their lives. The State, at long last, acknowledged the extent to which the time spent in the laundries tragically blighted the lives of so many women.

The State has finally opened up its heart and accepted its moral duty to those who felt abandoned and lost and who believed they had no future. Dr. McAleese, although concentrating on the State's involvement, stated in the introduction to his report that for many years the chronicle of the Magdalen laundries had been characterised by secrecy, silence and shame. I want to express my deep gratitude again on the record of this House to the women of the Magdalen laundries who began a journey a long time ago to have the truth of what happened told and acknowledged. There must have been times on the journey when they wondered if it was ever going to end - if indifference and evasion were the only responses they would receive. With courage and tenacity, they persisted. Due to their efforts, the veil of secrecy surrounding the laundries has at last been lifted and it can never be replaced. We must ensure that these women get what is rightly theirs in regard to pensions and access to health care and that the Quirke report is fully implemented.

I welcome the Government's decision to assist surviving women in the matter of payments and other supports, including medical cards and psychological and counselling services. This address and access must not be obstructed in any way. The Quirke report simply must be fully implemented.

I have a long and embarrassing list of how women have been disregarded by this State. It includes the hepatitis C scandal, the mother and baby homes, the Magdalen laundries, the Savita Halappanavar case, the X case and the symphysiotomies - women treated differently and indifferently by the State simply because of their biology. I am proud to be part of a Government that seeks to address these wrongs. We have a historic opportunity to make things right for these women who were so badly treated by every county and parish that we represent in this House.

I also support the statement by the then Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, that there is a role for the religious orders which ran the laundries to make a fair contribution along with the taxpayer. I agree with him that these laundries were private businesses run by those orders which benefitted from the unpaid labour of women committed to them.

What contribution are the religious orders making to this process?

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