Group seeks statutory Laundries inquiry

A commission of inquiry into State involvement in the Magdalene Laundries should still be established by the Government because the focus of the McAleese report was too narrow, a leading human rights group has claimed.

This is the second such call for a statutory inquiry in recent weeks after the UN Committee Against Torture also warned the Government that the report did not meet its satisfaction.

However, the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has said it does not want any such statutory inquiry, which would be similar to the Murphy or Ryan report, “to hold up” a redress scheme for the Magdalene women.