Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Question 400: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will issue a comprehensive explanation as to the reason the survivors of the Bethany Homes have been excluded from the interdepartmental committee (details supplied); and the steps he will take to ensure that these victims are given equality of treatment with Catholic victims. [30912/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Government has charged the inter-departmental committee with clarifying any State interaction with the Magdalen institutions and producing a narrative detailing such interaction. There are presently no plans to expand its brief beyond those institutions.

Magdalen institutions are not a particularly Roman Catholic phenomenon. Many such institutions were founded by lay people in the 19th century both in Britain and Ireland to provide a place of refuge or asylum for women. However at the time the State was established, the 10 Magdalen institutions in the 26 counties were run by Roman Catholic religious congregations.