Bitter row led to probe into Magdalene redress scheme

A bitter nine-month behind the scenes row with the Department of Justice led the Ombudsman to launch an investigation into the “possible maladministration” of the Magdalene redress scheme.

Launched last December, it will examine:

• if the application process operated in a clear, open, fair and consistent manner
• whether the department relied on irrelevant and/or incomplete information when deciding on a person’s eligibility under the scheme and the various practices of the department in sourcing, gathering and evaluating information on the institutions covered by the scheme.