Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank him for the history lesson. It was a good reminder of what we all know, to our cost in our hearts and minds, happened to the Magdalen women.

I wish to emphasise the word "justice" throughout my speech. I do this because "I emphasise the word "justice"" was the major sentence in an address by Deputy Alan Shatter, who was Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence at the time of the publication of the report of Mr. Justice Quirke on the former residents of the Magdalen laundries.Let us all emphasise it again today. It is about justice for the needs and the interests of the Magdalen women, justice for all their needs and all their interests and justice for all. Mr. Justice Quirke's report states:

During the consultation process the following were amongst many health concerns of Magdalen women: (1) cancer, (2) heart complaints, (3) high blood pressure and diabetes, (4) mental health illnesses, (5) mobility problems, (6) dementia, (7) arthritic complaints, (8) arterial difficulties and (9) visual and hearing deficits [...] The health needs and requirements of the women surveyed are diverse in nature so the women should be provided with access to a comprehensive suite of health care services. Those services include: GP services; prescribed drugs, medicines, aids and appliances; dental services; ophthalmic services; aural services; home support; home nursing; counselling services; [and] a range of other services, to include chiropody/podiatry and physiotherapy.

That is what Mr. Justice Quirke said was to be done. The Government approved the publication of the report in full and accepted the recommendations made by him.

Mr. Justice Quirke's most important recommendation after the ex gratiapayments to all Magdalen women was that Magdalen women should have access to the full range of services enjoyed by holders of the Health (Amendment) Act 1996 and with it the HAA card. This is where justice for the Magdalen women begins and completes its restorative nature and path. The Taoiseach made an outstanding speech about his Government's need to give back some aspect of lost lives to the Magdalen women. His promise amounted to a national covenant. Women know that in some way this promise to the Magdalen women parallels how we should view our own lives with quality, value and worth, for unless we can think and feel through the travel shoes of others, we cannot understand the heart and the geography of our own lives. The promise to the Magdalen women was a very profound promise. The Minister of State is a good Minister and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, is an excellent Minister and I know they understand the profundity of that. However, when we start, either through the Department of Health or the Department of Justice and Equality, snipping and fraying around the recommendations, the result becomes an uneven, unfair and unjust fabric. When the Minister of State and the Minister start snipping and fraying around the recommendations, they undermine the profundity of the promise and the humanity of the justice.

The Bill is good, but it is not what was promised. I might remind the Seanad that the women promised not to sue the State in exchange for a full redress package and they have kept their promise. Where are their legitimate expectations now? In view of this and with respect and regard for the Minister of State's and the Minister's portfolios, I will be tabling some detailed amendments throughout the passage of the Bill on Committee and Report Stages. This Government needs to think at length and loudly about promises. A promise is not a half-belief. It is not a snip and a fray. It is a true rhyme. It is a reality and a justice. If I were to define a government, I would say a government is a promise and a promise is a government and one must keep one's promise totally. I remember making my first speech here, when I had the privilege of coming into the Seanad to speak about the power of women who were oppressed to stay standing and about the power of other women to come in and help them to stay standing. I intend to do that for the Magdalen women, even if it is to be my last speech. I will leave Members with this thought from a Magdalen laundry survivor:

Have you heard anything new about the HAA Medical cards? The waiting is so stressful for me, because I have found out in late January, I have macular degeneration. I would love to go private, but I have to wait on the waiting list to get treated on the HSE. I got an appointment to see a private eye specialist for Monday 16 February but I can't go, because I can't afford the treatment. This is so unjust, have they the Government got any conscience? I hope it will be good news and quickly.

I stood up here on my first day in the Seanad and I stand up again here. It is one thing to be talking about metering and paying for water but it is another thing to break the promise made in respect of these women. This promise must be kept in totality. If I were sitting in a Government position this evening, that is exactly what I would be doing, because the people need to know that this is a good Government. Good governments are defined by promises and keep them totally.