Kenny to travel with President on state visit to UK

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is planning to accompany President Michael D Higgins on part of his groundbreaking three-day official State visit to the UK this year.

Mr Kenny said that while the exact details had yet to be worked out, he wished to reciprocate the decision by prime minister David Cameron to travel to Ireland and attend the State dinner at Dublin Castle during the Queen’s historic visit in 2011.

“I do plan to accompany President Higgins at some stage of his visit to the UK in April in the same way as David Cameron travelled to Ireland during the Queen’s visit,” Mr Kenny said.

Mr Higgins will become the first Irish Head of State to make an official State visit to the UK where he and wife Sabina will stay with the royals at the 11th century Windsor Castle.

Mr Higgins and the Queen are expected to make short speeches at a banquet to be held at Windsor in the President’s honour, and it’s possible Taoiseach Enda Kenny will attend this event.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has clarified comments Mr Kenny made before Christmas, that money has been sent to a trust in London for the survivors of the Magdalene laundries in Britain.

Mr Kenny had said: “I was very happy that just three weeks ago we sent off the first tranche of money to the trust in England for the commencement of payment to the survivors of Magdalene.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said Mr Kenny was referring to a €250,000 payment to a charity trust in Camden to provide information and support services for the approximate 100 UK residents who have applied to the redress scheme.

She said any ex gratia payments under Judge John Quirke’s scheme will be made directly by the department to the individuals concerned.

The first of those payments to almost 600 survivors, both in Ireland and Britain, are set to be processed in the coming weeks.

The Justice For Magdalenes group has criticised the slowness of the payment system, which will pay eligible women a tax-free sum of between €11,500 and €100,000, depending on the duration of their stays in the laundries.

“JFM Research is very concerned with the time it is taking for the State to deliver redress to a population of aging and elderly women. It is now 10 months since Mr Kenny’s apology, six months since the publication of Mr Justice Quirke’s recommendations. The women deserve justice without further delay,” a spokeswoman said.

Payments of over €50,000 will be paid in weekly installments as recommended by Judge Quirke.