Magdalene proposals due - Shatter

Specific announcements in relation to the Magdalene laundry survivors will be made in the Dáil on Tuesday, Minister for Justice…

Steven O'Riordan of Magdalene Survivors Together, with survivors Marina Gambold (centre) and Maureen Sullivan (right) outside Leinster House. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien/The Irish Times
Steven O'Riordan of Magdalene Survivors Together, with survivors Marina Gambold (centre) and Maureen Sullivan (right) outside Leinster House. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien/The Irish Times

Specific announcements in relation to the Magdalene laundry survivors will be made in the Dáil on Tuesday, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said.

Mr Shatter said today the Government was focusing on "producing a comprehensive package of measures" arising out of the publication of the report by Senator Martin McAleese on State involvement in the laundries.

Speaking on RTÉ radio, he said there had been a need to get "the full factual background" and that only part of this had been available before the McAleese report was published.

We now had a full background to what occurred and on what people’s experiences were, he said. He had always said that following the report there would be a "process of consideration" as to where the government goes next.

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The Minister said yesterday's meeting with London-based survivors, attended by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Labour junior minister Kathleen Lynch had been "very emotional".

The women had very much welcomed the report and were relieved and very pleased that the truth of what they had been saying was accepted.

Mr Shatter said there had been other meetings in the course of the last few days other meetings. Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore had met another group of former residents on Monday last and the Taoiseach had held other meetings during the course of the week, he said.

“This is all feeding in to what will be proposed to Cabinet on Tuesday. I don’t want to pre-empt what’s going to be proposed but there will be very specific announcements made in the Dail following Cabinet conclusions being reached when the discussion takes place on late Tuesday afternoon.”