Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Most of what needs to be said has already been said at this stage, but there are a few points I would like to make. I will support the Bill. It is long overdue, it is necessary and it is an important step in the right direction. I have some concerns and reservations which I will address.

The Bill is the first formal recognition of the abuse, pain and suffering that so many women endured over so many years in certain institutions and at the hands of the State.

It is appropriate that a proper and full scheme be put in place to try to address some of the problems and some of the challenges that face the women concerned. Deputy Boyd Barrett said that nothing could undo the damage that had been done and nothing could take away the fact that so much suffering was endured by these women. They have been extraordinarily brave and resilient in how they have pursued the vindication of their rights over so many years. However, this Bill is an important recognition of their situation, and I hope that some of the measures contained in it will help those women to live out their years with some form of dignity and some degree of relief.

The Bill is a direct result or follows on from the Taoiseach's apology in 2013, which was a very important acknowledgement by the State, coming as it did from the Taoiseach as head of the Government, on behalf of all of us - every man and woman in this State. He apologised for the wrongdoing that was carried out and the abuse and terror endured by those women.

While I acknowledge recent statements, which are to be welcomed, in respect of some of the measures in the Bill, I ask the Minister of State to provide a degree of clarification to the House today. The initial concern was that the full HAA entitlement to a medical card and to all necessary medical services would be provided as recommended in Mr. Justice Quirke's report. It was a key recommendation, and the organisation representing the Magdalen women was extremely disappointed that this did not appear to be clearly enunciated in the Bill. The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, yesterday outlined to the House the Government's intention to ensure that all access to required services which was promised and recommended by Mr. Justice Quirke would now be made available. However, I still think some degree of clarification is required. The organisation Justice for Magdalenes has asked why the wording of the Bill limits the number of services in the way it does. For example, they are limited in a way that the Health (Amendment) Act 1996 does not limit them. Another and related issue of significant concern is the fact that ultimate discretion lies with the HSE, which will be the final arbiter or determinant with regard to the format and details of the scheme. That is a genuine cause for concern, which I share. I refer to the very recent and negative experience of how the HSE has dealt with medical cards, with discretionary medical cards and with the requirements of people with certain illnesses. The HSE has fallen short in these instances. I would have a much greater degree of comfort if all of the services available to the beneficiaries of this scheme were to be enunciated clearly in this legislation. There is an opportunity to amend the Bill on Committee and Report Stages and I hope the Government will consider doing so or, at least, give a fair hearing to the Opposition as we try to do so. The survivors are entitled to have a comprehensive list of entitlements rather than a vague aspirational wording. There should be provided a genuinely comprehensive list of entitlements so that they know exactly where they stand as to entitlements.

A number of women, including a number in my constituency, are still living in institutions and they lack sufficient capacity to operate in an independent environment. It is important that they are legally protected and that they are afforded full legal representation. This is a lacuna in the Bill which I hope the Government will address. The number of women in this situation is very small and they deserve the full protection of the State. The Bill should provide that fully backdated pension payments will be made to the women who will benefit from this scheme.

On a more general point, society must repent and make amends, in so far as is humanly possible, for the inhumane treatment of these young girls and young women, as they were, and the extraordinary abuse and marginalisation they suffered. We are all collectively responsible as a society. It is very easy to simply single out religious orders. I would add my voice to the long list of people who criticise the religious orders for the way in which they dealt with and treated these young girls and the failure to provide protection and a dignified place in which to live, work and feel safe. Equally, the Government failed, and this has been acknowledged in the Taoiseach's apology and through the publication of this legislation. However, the families of those girls also are responsible. We hear very little about the families, who in many cases - not in every case - turned these young women out and left them, literally, in the care of these religious orders, to be turned into effective slaves. We all need to reflect on the fact that the culture at the time was horrific. These young women were deemed to be a stain on their families and a stain on their communities, and the convenient and easy solution was to simply give the problem to someone else to deal with. It enrages me to think that is how Irish society dealt with those women, and I hope those days are long behind us.

I echo what Deputy Boyd Barrett said about the conditions in direct provision for asylum seekers, which is an absolute national disgrace, but we are here today to talk about the Magdalen women.

I wish to record how moved I was when listening to Deputy Anne Ferris's contribution yesterday evening. I do not need to repeat the points she made, nor do I think it appropriate to cherry-pick the abuses for which we choose to offer redress. All abuse is wrong, and all women who suffered abuse in institutions and residences deserve to be respected and treated equally. It is unacceptable that certain women in certain homes and women in certain Protestant institutions are excluded from the scheme as proposed. They all deserve recognition and they all deserve restitution, and it is our responsibility as policy-makers and legislators to provide that recognition and restitution. There is no hierarchy of survivors; they have all been dehumanised and victimised and they all deserve our respect, and fair and equal treatment.

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