Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

562. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details in tabular form by county and demographic, the numbers of applications received so far under the Magdalene Redress scheme; if he will provide an update on the status of the recommendations produced by Justice Quirke; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36457/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Arrangements are in place in my Department to process applications for payments under the scheme from the women involved. A copy of Mr Justice Quirke's report and an application form was posted to all women who had already registered an expression of interest with the Department.

While it is not possible at this stage to provide a detailed breakdown, I can advise that in excess of 672 applications forms have issued to date and 259 completed forms were returned for processing by close of business yesterday. The verification process for some applicants will take time depending on the availability and extent of records. The Government has also established a committee with key Departments and the Office of the Attorney General to examine how best to implement Mr Justice Quirke's other recommendations. While it has been decided in principle to implement these recommendations in full, implementation of some of them are quite complicated and may require legislation. The Group held their first meeting on 4 July and I expect them to report back to me in about 6 weeks.