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

Last week or perhaps the week before, in response to questions on promised legislation and the programme for Government, the Taoiseach indicated that the Government would deal in a whole and compassionate way with survivors of the Magdalen laundries. Over the course of the weekend, I read that under the scheme women who worked in the laundries when they were girls under the age of 12 will be asked to provide evidence that they worked in these institutions. That goes against the grain of everything that has been said repeatedly on the floor of the Dáil. It certainly does not represent anything compassionate and is causing terrible strife and anxiety. I ask the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, if he will amend, change or revisit whatever part of the scheme or legislation that needs to be changed to ensure this impossible demand is not made of these women, who were only very young children at the time.

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