Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his attendance. All Members have looked forward to this legislation and to going the full way towards taking care of the Magdalen survivors. This truly is what the Seanad is for and having listened to Senator Moran, thank goodness most of these ladies still are around because Members can take action now and all parties can come together. I beg Senator Gilroy's pardon but I will be emotional because Members are dealing with elderly, frail, tired, vulnerable and frightened people. Senator Mooney quoted Maeve O'Rourke's words that this draft legislation does not meet the recommendation made by Mr. Justice Quirke. How did this Bill get as far as the Seanad? In common with my colleagues, I am calling for justice to be done to honour the promise made by the Government in June 2013. I apologise to the Minister of State for looking up at the ceiling but this is a small group of people and Members cannot stand here and not give them everything they need.Mr. Mark Kelly of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties stated:

The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) has made clear that this means that funding must be provided to restore, as far as possible, their independence and their full inclusion and participation in society. CAT has made crystal clear that this obligation ‘cannot be postponed’.....

As Senator Mary Moran said, let us not postpone anything because the women concerned are elderly. The Government must act to honour its promise to the Magdalen women in line with our international human rights obligations.

Mr. Colm O’Gorman of Amnesty International Ireland said:

Truth and justice have still not been provided to victims of human rights violations in the Magdalene Laundries. That the Government continues to assert that the McAleese interdepartmental inquiry was a comprehensive investigation is shocking. The Restorative Justice Scheme proposed by Justice Quirke and accepted by the Government did not even meet the human rights requirements of an effective remedy, but was seen as a welcome step by survivors.

We are not pleasing the survivors by introducing the legislation we are debating and I know that we will have to table serious amendments to it. I know that the Independent Members will support them. We must ensure the survivors get what they need and what they want.