OPINION (Maeve O'Rourke) ... Laundries apology is now needed

Denied justice and an apology by the State and Taoiseach Enda Kenny, the women of the Magdalene Laundries deserved a better response, writes Maeve O’Rourke

ON Sept 4, 2009, the minister for education and science rejected Justice for Magdalenes’ proposal for an apology and distinct redress scheme for survivors of the Magdalene Laundries.

The minister said “the situation …… is quite different to persons who were resident in State-run institutions. The Magdalene Laundries were privately owned and operated establishments and did not come within the responsibility of the State. The State did not refer individuals to Magdalen Laundries, nor was it complicit in referring individuals to them.”