Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

65. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he plans to take further to the recommendations of the Ombudsman’s report on the Magdalen restorative justice scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51696/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As I have previously indicated, the Department is giving full and detailed consideration to each of the four recommendations made by the Ombudsman in his report published on 23 November 2017.

It is important to note that the existing Scheme remains open. To date 684 applicants to the Magdalen scheme have received their ex-gratia payments from my Department's Vote at a cost of €25.7m.  The terms of the scheme recommended to Government by the Justice Quirke included the payment of “lump” sums in a range from €11,500 to €100,000; special access to health care, upgrading of pension entitlements to the full State Pension for those who had reached retirement age and payment of a weekly sum of €100 inclusive of other State payments to others.

The Ombudsman has recommended that, in certain cases, women should be made a ward of court. I can inform the Deputy that this policy was already being pursued by the Department which is now considering whether any further measures can be taken in this regard in the light of the details of the Ombudsman's recommendation.

It was recommended that there should be a review of any cases where there has been a dispute over length of stay.  No particular difficulty is foreseen with this recommendation and my Department is exploring the options for doing so.

it was recommended that guidance should be developed centrally on future restorative justice or redress schemes and my Department will be pursuing this recommendation with relevant Government Departments likely to be responsible for any such schemes.

The recommendation by the Ombudsman to include certain industrial schools and training centres within the scheme notwithstanding the fact that applicants may have already received payments under the Residential Institutions Redress Scheme raises a number of issues.  As part of the consideration of this recommendation, my Department is seeking to clarify all the issues concerned and assess the administrative, resource and legal implications.