James Heffernan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last month, Philomena Lee, of the Philomena Lee Foundation, received the Fitzgerald Bible Bruff Award. Her story is not unique. It is the story of many women and children on these shores. In Ireland, we have a shameful and diabolical way of treating victims of institutional abuse in particular. This morning, I met with many of the survivors of the Magdalen laundries. There are a number of things they are not happy about. One is that we are still stigmatising and labelling these people, as if they had committed some horrendous crime.

As part of the redress, as I understand it, they have been issued with medical cards. I have a copy of one here and it beggars belief. "Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Act, 2015" is printed quite clearly on the top of the card. It is wrong on every level and it goes to show the sterile, cold-hearted insensitivity at the heart of bureaucratic officialdom in this country. It is unwarranted, unnecessary and downright wrong that the HSE, in giving redress to these women, who have suffered so much and who have given their lives in our gulags, has given them this extra slap in the face. It is disgraceful. I am not calling on any Minister to have a look at it, but I am calling on the HSE to recall those medical cards and at least issue them in a more sensitive fashion, because this is not right.