The Taoiseach or perhaps his civil servants and those in the Department of Justice appear worried that including Bethany Home in a redress scheme similar to that offered to Magdalene women opens up the state to further claims from broadly comparable Roman Catholic institutions.

If the apology proffered by an Taoiseach Enda Kenny on behalf of the government and state to the Magdalene women is one of genuine substance and compassion and not empty rhetoric for public consumption, then all victims, including those survivors of the Protestant-run Bethany Homes, Westbank and St Mary’s in Summer Hill must be part of that apology and be included in the redress scheme.

I am writing to you to protest about the frustration of bullying.

Well done and many thanks to Catherine Shanahan for continuing to follow Grainne O’Connor’s story (Irish Examiner, Feb 25) so highlighting the injustice being done to her.

With the probable industrial relations protest that will happen in future weeks and months, as a reader of your newspaper I would like to implore you to keep your coverage of politics in this country positive.

I have no doubt Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s Magdalene apology in the Dáil was sincere and heartfelt.

Ted Cronin (Letters, Feb 21), lamented that if animals could speak, we would all cry listening to their stories of the cruelty humans inflict on them.

It’s interesting to see that our Minister of Transport, Tourism and Sport is so against the idea of banning alcohol at sporting events.

Our Sports Minister, Leo Varadkar, wants clubs to voluntarily give up sponsorship agreements that they have in place from alcohol companies.

Call me cynical, but as moving as Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s speech was I seem to recall he’s used the catch in the throat gimmick before.