There were scenes of joy and gratitude outside Leinster House last night as victims cheered and whooped following the Taoiseach’s apology for the State and the people of Ireland’s involvement in the Magdalene laundries.

The stigma and suffering of former residents of the Magdalene Laundries has been “prolonged” by the Government’s failure to apologise for what happened, victims said.

Campaign group Justice for Magdalenes (JFM) has accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of cruelty and ineptitude in his refusal to apologise to the survivors of Magdalene laundries.

The treatment of women and girls in Magdalene Laundries across Ireland “constituted slavery” which should be subject to a criminal probe.

SURVIVORS of the Magdalene Laundries want to ensure their involvement in any future redress scheme will not preclude them from including their life stories in a national museum.

THE Government has asked the Attorney General to examine a groundbreaking report by the state’s human rights watchdog which calls for a statutory enquiry into the Magdalene Laundries.

The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has today called on the Government to hold an immediate statutory inquiry into the treatment of women and children in the Magdalene laundries.