merrion street

Minister of State Kathleen Lynch TD with responsibility for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People, was delighted to be a guest speaker at the official opening of the Whispering Hope Centre in Camden Square, London.

The UK based Irish Women Survivors Support Network (IWSSN) which was co-founded by Ms Sally Mulready and Ms Phyllis Morgan has been in existence for over 20 years and provides support to Irish women survivors of institutional abuse including survivors of Magdalen Laundries. The new centre which was officially opened today provides practical information to UK resident survivors and their families in a kind and accessible way.

Addressing the event Minister Lynch said, ‘The Government has implemented an ex-gratia scheme involving a range of supports for the women concerned. The Government has also provided a grant of €250,000 to IWSSN to assist women who were in relevant institutions within the Irish State.

To date over 700 applications to the ex-gratia scheme have been received and about 200 of those applicants have already received their lump sum payment. Some applications are taking a little longer to process but all payments are backdated to the 1st of August, 2013.’