Magdalenes group set to sue the State over deaths

The Justice for Magdalenes group is gearing up to sue the State over the hundreds of women who died and were buried in mass and often unmarked graves.

The scandal of women who were frequently imprisoned and forced to work because they were unmarried mothers was raised by the UN committee on economic and social rights in Geneva.

Two committee members did not appear to accept the Government’s claim they had properly investigated the issue and that the women were not detained against their will.

The State quoted the London-based Irish Women Survivors Support Network as saying: “We hope that time is not wasted calling for more statutory inquiries or demanding yet more bureaucratic statutory processes. In their advanced years, the women have repeatedly told us they have no wish for conflict or confrontation.”

The Government insisted there was no evidence to support allegations of criminal torture or ill treatment in the institutions. However, Justice for Magdalenes said they have extensive evidence on the truth of what happened in the laundries.