John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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510. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will confirm receipt of correspondence in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and the process involved to have this matter dealt with and the timeframe involved. [41342/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that the correspondence from Ernest J. Cantillon Solicitors, dated 11th July, in respect of an applicant to the Restorative Justice Scheme which was established by Government for the benefit of those women that were admitted to the Magdalen laundries, was received by my Department.

My officials issued an acknowledgement letter to the Solicitor on the 14th July.

As provided for under the Scheme, where the applicant does not agree with the provisional assessment made by the Restorative Justice Implementation Unit on the length of stay in a relevant institution, the applicant can seek, in the first instance, to have her case reviewed by a more senior officer.

On receipt of the letter from Ernest J Cantillon Solicitors the applicant's case was reviewed in accordance with the terms of the Scheme. A letter setting out the decision of the Reviewer was issued to the Solicitor on the 5th August. At that stage the applicant's solicitor was advised that if the applicant did not agree with the Reviewer's decision she could avail of an independent appeals process and lodge an appeal with the Office of the Ombudsman.

The applicant lodged an appeal and the applicant's file was sent to the Ombudsman's Office on the 9th September. The Ombudsman communicated his decision directly to the applicant and the file was returned to the Restorative Justice Implementation Unit on the 31st October. The Ombudsman has upheld the decision of the Restorative Justice Implementation Unit.