Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Department of Justice and Equality has a great deal to answer for, not only in the context of the ongoing issue of emails relating to Maurice McCabe but also in respect of Garda stations, a matter to which my colleague just referred. The Committee of Public Accounts was told by the assistant Garda Commissioner that he would not prioritise Stepaside Garda station but would put the resources into the north and south inner city of Dublin, where the crime rate needs much more focus and attention.

I want to bring to the Leader's attention a report, Opportunity Lost, by the Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall, which has been just been published. The report criticises aspects of the Department of Justice and Equality's administration of the Magdalen restorative justice scheme. Mr. Tyndall indicates that the Department of Justice and Equality would have been aware of links between the units where women lived and the Magdalenes. The Department gave undue weight to evidence supplied by the religious congregations involved. It was manifestly unfair of the Department to exclude women on the basis that they might not have been able to apply for inclusion on redress schemes. The eligibility criteria were not disclosed to the women when their applications were denied and no interview or information process was established. Mr. Tyndall has called for the matter to be investigated further. Will the Leader invite the Minister for Justice and Equality to come before the House in order that he might indicate how we will ensure that no woman is left behind as a result of this latest traumatic development? I would like the Minister to outline the steps that will now be taken.