ASH WEDNESDAY was the day when foreheads were marked with ash and the words ‘Memento, homo, quia pulvis es’ were said (or, in English, ‘Remember, man, that thou art dust’). 

"I wish Maíria well, I hope she finds happiness". With these words from Sinn Féin leader, Gerry Adams, the woman at the centre of yesterday’s there and a half hour Dáil debate threw her hands up in the air and shook her head in disbelief.

Up to 200 women contacted the Department of Justice for information on the Magdalene redress scheme in the 24 hours after the Taoiseach made his groundbreaking apology to the women for the State’s role in their hurt.

If there is one thing we have learned from the banking disaster and the horrors of the Magdalen Laundries, it is that we should no longer place passive trust in authorities and regulators.