Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We need to reconsider the limitations of the McAleese report. The remit was very narrow. We know there are criticisms of that. When we talk about what happened in the laundries it is important to hear the stories. It is important for the women that their stories are heard and believed. There was a great deal of disappointment because they felt the McAleese report did not give a true account of their experiences in the laundries. There is a debt owed on that aspect.

The mother and baby home inquiry is coming up. It will not be comprehensive enough because we know the crossover, the connections between mother and baby homes, industrial schools and Magdalen laundries and I hope that after the next commission of inquiry there will be a really comprehensive narrative but I am afraid there will be gaps again as there were in the McAleese report.

When this legislation comes in there will be a need for a comprehensive guide in simple language in order that all the survivors of the laundries can understand exactly what they are entitled to and there is no ambiguity for them.

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