Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday was another sad day for this country. Our international image as the land of saints and scholars, which we enjoyed for a long time, is long gone as a consequence of the many reports that have been released in recent years. We are too quick to hand responsibility for everything to the State. As a society, we must read and take stock of this report. It makes it clear the Catholic Church, society at large and the Government were responsible for the horrific and barbaric treatment of these women. We all must reflect on the inescapable fact that this was tantamount to slavery. It is very important for the issue of compensation to be addressed. While it is easy to say that the State should wrap its arms around these women and apologise to them, it is important for a full and meaningful apology to be extended to them, as Senator Mullins said. As Senator Keane said, the provision of compensation is the only tangible way for the State to show it is truly sorry for what these women endured. The pensions issue has been mentioned. Quite simply, these women should be paid for the work they did. They were treated as slaves. The reality is that they need to be compensated for the work they did. Their abandonment by the State also needs to be addressed in this way. We really need to have a debate on the matter in the House. The Taoiseach's suggestion that the report should be digested in some way is very important. I hope a debate can be facilitated, perhaps next week.