The publication of the Report of Mr Justice Quirke and the Government’s
acceptance in full of all of the recommendations contained in it marks the
culmination of a process I initiated, together with Minister of State
Kathleen Lynch, in March 2011 following my taking office as Minister for
Justice, Equality and Defence. It reflects my promise to the women who
resided and worked in the Magdalen Laundries to see justice done.
The process we initiated resulted in an unprecedented trawl of papers and
records held by the State and State agencies to assist in establishing the
facts about the Magdalen laundries and gave everyone a unique opportunity
to detail what they knew.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to former Senator, Dr Martin McAleese, for
the work he has done. His Report provided the platform for the apology
made by the Taoiseach on 19th February 2013 in Dail Eireann and for the
Government’s decision to ask Judge Quirke to devise an ex gratia scheme for
the benefit of the women who were admitted to and worked in the Magdalen
Laundries.
Judge Quirke’s most immediately significant recommendation in the report is
that the women in question should all receive payments in the range €11,500
(duration of stay 3 months or less) to €100,000 (duration of stay of 10
years or more). If the payment due is above €50,000, Judge Quirke
recommends that it should paid in the form of a lump sum of €50,000 plus an
annual amount related to the notional remaining lump sum to be paid weekly.
The amount to be paid depends on the duration of stay of a resident in a
Magdalen Laundry or in St Mary’s Training Centre, Stanhope Street, or in
House of Mercy, Summerhill, Wexford.
As regards income payments in particular he stated
"The Commission is concerned to protect, for the benefit of those
vulnerable women, the resources which they will acquire when they
receive monetary payments arising out of the proposed Scheme.
It has been necessary for the Commission to seek to balance the needs
and interests of those elderly vulnerable women with the needs and
interests of the many other Magdalen women who are younger, healthier,
more energetic and more independent. In order to achieve that balance
the Commission has taken the view that the needs and interests of the
Magdalen women would be best addressed by making any ex gratia payments
in excess of €50,000 payable to the women as tax free weekly income for
the remainder of their lives."
Judge Quirke’s other recommendations cover a range of issues including:
· each Magdalen woman should have access to the full range of
services currently enjoyed by holders of the Health (Amendment)
Act 1996 card (an enhanced medical card)
· each Magdalen woman of State pensionable age should receive a
weekly amount from the State equivalent to the State Contributory
Pension but taking into account any other State payments already
being made;
· each Magdalen woman under State pensionable age should receive a
minimum weekly amount of €100 per week from the State but taking
into account any other State payments already being made;
· all monetary payments should be exempt from income and other taxes
and should be exempt from any means testing;
I must once again thank Mr Justice Quirke for taking on this task. He and
the people who assisted him did an excellent job in devising a scheme that
meets the particular needs of the women who were former residents of the
designated institutions and which the Government had no hesitation in
approving.
I very much welcome the statement of Sally Mulready, Chairperson of the
Irish Women Survivors Support Network following yesterday’s announcement in
which she says "This Irish Government have honoured a commitment the
coalition made on coming into office and they did so in just 27 months.
Due to the inaction of successive governments, we lost many years and many
of the women who were locked away in these Laundries, passed away and never
experienced justice."
I was somewhat surprised yesterday to be made aware that, during our press
conference, some negative comments had already been made by a small number
of former Magdalen residents, at a time when those commenting could not
have read, fully considered and reflected on the content of Judge Quirke’s
Report. I would urge people to take the time to do so.
I am informed that the first completed application form together with
relevant records has already been received in my Department, just one day
after the announcement of the scheme. I know that many more will follow.
Of vital assistance in processing applications received will be the
cooperation of the religious congregations in providing a copy of records
or documents to individual applicants. I want to thank the religious
congregations for undertaking this work.
Yesterday, I stated that the estimated cost of the ex gratia payment scheme
will be between €34.5m up to €58m. The approach taken by Judge Quirke, and
endorsed by the Government, is one of restorative justice. I know that
many of the women, as well as my Cabinet colleagues, Members of this House
and the wider public, expect that the religious congregations will
contribute to the funds required. It is my hope that they do so as part of
the restorative justice and reconciliation process and both myself and
Minister of State Kathleen Lynch, discussed this issue with the
congregations on Tuesday of last week.