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SURVIVORS OF THE Magdalene Laundries have criticised the government for failing to implement the recommendations of a United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) almost a year ago.
The Justice for Magdalenes (JFM) group, an advocacy group for survivors of the Catholic-run institutions which operated in Ireland between 1922 and 1996, have said in a submission to UNCAT that it is unacceptable that there has not yet been any apology, redress and reparations for survivors.
The Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, set up an inter-departmental committee, chaired by Senator Martin McAleese, last year in order to establish the facts of State involvement in the Magdalene Laundries.
The committee’s establishment came on foot of UNCAT’s recommendation that an inquiry be held after stating that it was ”gravely concerned at the failure of the State to protect girls and women who were involuntarily confined between 1922 and 1996 in the Magdalene Laundries”.
The inter-departmental committee’s final report is expected to be published by mid-2012 and the government has said it will then consider it.
But, Maeve O’Rourke, from the JFM Advisory Committee member, said that the State had failed to implement the recommendations of the United Nations committee and that the McAleese committee’s work should not stop women accessing an apology and redress.
“Our report states clearly that the government has failed to implement the UNCAT recommendation, which called on the state to ensure that Magdalene survivors obtain redress and to establish an independent investigation into the full extent of the abuse,” she said.
“We acknowledge the important work of Senator McAleese’s Committee, however, it should not impede the women’s access to an apology and redress, and we also reserve the right to call for a fully independent inquiry with statutory powers to compel evidence.”
Another member of JFM’s advisory committee, James M Smith, from Boston College, said there was “ample evidence of State involvement” in the laundries which would warrant “an apology, pensions and restoring lost wages to this group of aging and elderly women.
“They need help now while still alive to benefit from it,” he said.
Newly gathered survivor testimony is to be submitted to the McAleese. Claire McGettrick, from Justice for Magdalenes, outlined what some of this evidence detailed.
In the testimonies already gathered, all survivors told us that they could not leave the laundries, that the doors were locked and the windows inaccessible. If they did try to leave they were returned by the Gardaí, while others decided not to try to escape because they knew the same fate awaited them.“They all told us they could not complain, in most cases they remarked that there was nobody to complain to; while others begged to leave, often on a daily basis, but all were refused. Every single survivor confirmed that they were never paid, that no inspections were ever carried out and that no government official ever came to check on them.
In a statement, the Department of Justice said: “The interim progress report of the Inter-Departmental Committee was published on the 25 October 2011 and is available on the Department of Justice and Equality website.
“The final report of this Committee is expected to be presented in mid 2012 and will be made public. The Government will decide what further action is appropriate when it has received and considered that report.”
Separately, another survivors group, the Magdalene Survivors Together, are to meet with Senator McAleese tomorrow at Leinster House.
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Such a disgrace this isn’t dealt with in a timely manner. I remember as a child the shops used to drop uniforms down to the magadelene laundries for cleaning. I even found receipts in old books with ML cleaning in them. To think of the slave labour going on in there, on our doorsteps, while we ran at without a clue makes me sick.
Awful awful stuff.
@PWurple: if you are still in possession of those receipt books, would you be able to scan copies and e-mail them to info@magdalenelaundries.com? Or if you are unable to, but would give us permission, e-mail us and let us know if we can scan them for you. Every bit of evidence is crucial at this stage, and even more important down the road to creating an oral and written history.
It was a few years ago… and we were clearing out a shed at the time, so I’m not sure they are stll around. I’ll have a hunt for them
Ban the Catholic Church. If the Russians could ban the Communist Party we can certainly ban a bunch of pedophiles/sadomasochistic/fascists. Remember people their only allegiance is to an autocratic ruler in the Vatican. They’re not Irish but rather foreign usurpers of Irish freedom and democracy
Banning the church isn’t exactly a great advertisement for ‘freedom and democracy’ .. banning state funding for religious institutions however.. especially those proven to have intentionally or recklessly inflicted so much pain and abuse on so many, and then tried to cover it up and deny an apology to their victims, snd try to avoid being held responsible or accountable .. that could work
Russians aren’t exctly banned communist party. It’s second largest party in Russia. http://kprf.ru/
And communist party, do you like it or not was’nt exactly bunch of paedophiles and sadomasochistic fascists.
Great, another committee!
What is it with the reluctance of the catholic church and government to grow a pair of balls and say sorry about anything. Maybe they think that an apology will somehow make them responsible.. as if they weren’t responsible already.
Hear hear!
At the very least, the apology seems so evident, you know? I would imagine for most of these women, the main thing would be a validation that what happened to them wasn’t ok.
Scary to think it still went on until 1996 . . . . .
Shame on the Gardai for being complicit in the torture of women. They’re supposed to protect Irish citizens yet instead they chose to be deferential to a religious organization thus legitimizing the torture and abuse that was taking place.
Imagine if a woman escaped from the laundry thinking she has won her freedom from hell only to be picked up by the Gardai who then return her, despite her protests, back to be tortured and abused again.
The Guardians of the Peace let themselves down on this occasion, senior management should be ashamed of themselves for what they allowed to happen when they had the power to stop it all along.
I think these people just need to move on with their lives. Otherwise they will never get closure.
locked up against their will for no good reason with no meaningful apology or support? yeah they need to just move on and forget about justice or accountability!
You know, for a lot of people who have survived abuse, what they want is some form of understanding about their experiences and apologies, an admission that what they went through was not ok. Maybe the finances need to be worked out, but the apology? NO reason why it shouldn’t be made.”
But thank you for this fine psychological analysis, Owen. If it’s “just moving on”, it’s not closure.
If I were one of these womenm, I think a appropriate form of ‘closure’ would be to have “closure” over the trigger of a 12 gauge shotgun, with the business end placed in the mouth of any of these Magdelene animals responsible for enslaving these women.
Owen, “these people”, as you so callously refer to them, are your mothers, aunts, sisters, and grannies. If a survivor actually were a female relation of yours (and chances are one could still be — many are so stigmatised and traumatised by their experience that they refuse to speak of it and would never be publicly identified as a Magdalene, so you never know), would you feel the same? Justice *is* closure. An apology is closure, so these women no longer have to live feeling that *they* did something wrong. Unfortunately, your attitude is indicative of the Irish society that blindly allowed this to happen up until 1996.
Ireland land of committee’s, tribunal’s ad nauseum but seemingly very little accountability or action.
have your say