Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am surprised at the obstinance of the Minister of State. He realises in principle that this Bill and the way it has been constituted does not have the support of Justice for Magdalenes and the people involved. They are very unhappy that there is an obvious disagreement between his reading of the Bill and theirs. That is why we have tabled the amendments. It would have been more useful if the Minister of State had come before the House today with some Government amendments to address the issues and genuine concerns raised on Second Stage by Senators across the House.

Mr. Justice Quirke's recommendations have not been fully adhered to. When the Taoiseach made an apology in the Dáil, we heard that the Government was going to do everything in its power to try to redress the situation. A representative group speaking on behalf of the victims said very clearly to Senators and the Government, in a briefing organised by Senator Gilroy, that this is not cutting the mustard and it is not for what they asked. Surely the Minister of State could have some compassion and come back and accept the amendments we have tabled or introduced Government amendments. That would have addressed the genuine concerns that are there. They want expediency in the Bill.

They can agree with the thrust of the Bill but they feel they waived certain rights before the Bill was published in order that expediency would be brought forward because of the ageing profile of the victims in question. I again get the sense today that we are hitting a brick wall with the Minister of State on these issues. There is quite a dismissive tone in the responses we are getting. He is trying to dismiss the amendments out of hand, which is very unfortunate. Maybe we should ask him to reconsider the amendments. If he is not happy with them, he could tell us what the Government intends to do on Report Stage to take on board the genuine concerns of the people who have suffered in the Magdalen laundries. They have voiced their genuine concerns since we had the debate on Second Stage. They still do not agree with the Government's reading of the Bill and something needs to be done to bring the two sides together.