Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Majella Moynihan and the makers of the documentary for reminding the people of this country of what a cruel and intolerant place it was for women who had children outside of marriage. This problem was not unique to Ireland but it was especially acute here, as we have seen from the Magdalen laundries and other tragic stories. We need to recognise that it is not enough for Member of this House to display our empathy and sympathy for Majella Moynihan. We are policymakers and the Minister is in government. We need to take steps which are active and realistic with regard to what we can do to face up to the State's responsibility to Ms Moynihan and our liability to her. One practical step that could be taken is in respect of her pension. In effect, Ms Moynihan was constructively dismissed from An Garda Síochána. She was shunned and forced out of the force. As well as apologising to her, the State should take some tangible steps to ensure that we compensate her for the damage and distress caused to her by the organs of the State. She and the women of Ireland are owed that. It was unfortunately the case that when a child was born outside of wedlock the woman was treated differently from the man. There are many reasons for the discrimination and shameful treatment that was meted out to women but two of them were unquestionably sexism and religion. Other factors included inheritance, class and snobbery, but sexism and religion were two main factors.

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