McAleese appointment may have ensured orders’ co-operation

Many believe that it was the Government decision to make Senator Martin McAleese chairman of the interdepartmental group that brought the religious orders on board.

In the years prior to the formation of the interdepartmental committee, the religious orders constantly slammed the door in the faces of the Justice for the Magdalenes group. They just didn’t want to know.

In 2009 and in 2011, the advocacy group asked to meet with the orders. They didn’t want to do so. They also wrote to them seeking some kind of written correspondence. They didn’t get a response.