Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate former Senator Martin McAleese on producing his 1,000 page report yesterday. It is important that we all read it. I hope, having read it, we will all have an opportunity at the appropriate time to make meaningful and thoughtful contributions on it. It is important that the women who helped the former Senator to compile the report be acknowledged, as it cannot have been easy for them. They made a very important contribution and shone a light on a period that was not a very proud one in our history. As a nation, we failed those to whom the State had a duty of care.

I have read the summary of the report, but have not read the report in detail. It points to the role of the State in the sending of many women to the laundries. The Government should now consider how it can support them in the light of their experiences. It should offer them appropriate support and a means of reconciliation, which I am sure will be forthcoming. We should all read the report and reflect on it. It covers a difficult period in our history, but it is important that the facts be made known. I sincerely thank former Senator Martin McAleese for his contribution in that regard.