We should care for all our children

The long awaited apology by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to the victims of the Magdalene Laundries has been understandably welcomed by a society that for more than a decade has revisited the horrors of Irish institutional detainment and abuse.

Report after report saw the revelations of degradation inflicted on innocent children and women met with cries of public outrage. As a society, we consistently demanded action on these reports. On each occasion saying sorry is the least we could have done.

By its definition, an apology is a reactionary measure, an acknowledgement that what we did in the past was wrong. It can imply a wish not to make the same failings again, but in reality it all too often ignores the failings that already exist in today’s society.