Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Like previous speakers, on behalf of the Labour Party group I wish Senator Martin McAleese all the best in his future career. I have never had many dealings with him but he struck me as being an intelligent and dignified man who brought an enormous presence to any project in which he has taken part. I wish we had seen more of him in the House. I have every confidence the Taoiseach will appoint a person of equal ability to fill Senator McAleese's place. Aside from his work in bringing the Orange Order before the House, it is well to acknowledge that he participated in a number of debates. Had he spent more time in the Chamber he might have caused even greater debate in the future. I am sorry we will not have his contribution as an individual.

I draw to the attention of the House that as and from 1 February, last Friday, the traditional bedsit is no longer permitted under Irish law. This follows on from regulations introduced in 2009. Fortunately, many landlords have taken the necessary steps to upgrade their accommodation. Many people have warm and fuzzy feelings about their time in college and their early years of employment and look back with some fondness on the traditional bedsit. From my personal experience I have seen a period house divided into 17 units with three bathrooms shared by the occupants of those 17 units. One elderly lady shared a bathroom with numerous men and was afraid to leave her room after 6 p.m. to go to the toilet and had to avail of a potty under the bed. That is the reality of life for some people in Ireland in 2013. It falls on local authorities to ensure that scandal is a thing of the past.

Today marks the publication of the interdepartmental report on State involvement in the Magdalen laundries under the chairmanship of Senator Martin McAleese.

The issue has been in the public domain for some time. We are all keen in this House to ensure justice for the survivors of the laundries. The lives these women were forced to endure during their time in them was nothing short of slavery and it is even more shocking to think that the last Magdalen laundry closed only in 1996. While we await the launch of the report later, some facts are known. These laundries were not in the middle of nowhere similar to other institutions where children were held. They were in the middle of the largest towns and cities in the country, including Cork, Galway, Limerick and Dublin. There is evidence that what went on in the laundries was an open secret. Women and girls were sentenced by the courts to serve time in the laundries with no release date, and escapees were returned by the Garda. Some women were held prisoner in the laundries for their entire lives. To cap the indignity of having their names removed from them, they were buried in unmarked graves.

I do not believe that the State can walk away from its responsibility or that we can ever rest while the torture endured by the Magdalen women goes unacknowledged. As one representative of the survivors put it, "A lot of people knew but didn't want to get involved". Nothing short of a full apology by the Irish people and appropriate compensation will be enough. I hope we will have a full debate on the report following its publication.