Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
PA Archive / PA Images
PA Archive / PA Images / PA Images
THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice has paid out the maximum compensation to just one Magdalene laundry survivor since its redress scheme was expanded last year.
Following a 2017 Ombudsman review, the government’s compensation scheme was expanded to women who worked in the Magdalene laundries of 12 religious institutions but were resident in one of 14 adjoining institutions.
In June last year, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan announced the widening of the scheme to include these women following a highly critical November 2017 report by Ombudsman Peter Tyndall.
Tyndall said that a number of women who worked in Magdalene laundries were wrongly refused access to the original redress scheme because they were not resident in the laundries themselves. He said that they’d been treated “manifestly unfair” by the department in administering the terms of the original redress scheme as devised by Justice Peter Quirke.
Since the department published an addendum to the scheme last November to rectify the issue, 87 women have applied for compensation for the work they undertook at the laundries. Just nine of the 87 have received money. One survivor was awarded the maximum of €100,000 – comprising €50,000 in a lump sum, and €50,000 in weekly installments.
Magdalene laundries operated throughout Ireland until 1996, ostensibly as rehabilitation centres for women who became pregnant outside of marriage, women with mental disabilities or homeless women.
Only in recent years has the State tried to make amends for the incarceration of women and for the abuse and punishment meted outed by religious orders to women who worked in the laundries.
In the wake of 2013′s McAleese report into state involvement with the laundries, the Magdalene Restorative Justice Scheme was established. Over €25 million has been paid to 700 women since the scheme was set up.
Advertisement
Scheme expansion
With just nine of the 87 applications under the expanded scheme finalised, there is work still to be done on the remaining 78. Wendy Lyon, a Dublin-based solicitor with KOD Lyons, is currently assisting 12 women who have submitted applications under the amended redress scheme.
The department is currently questioning a number of women’s claims, Lyon claims. They are specifically related to An Grianán Training Centre and the period of time women were admitted to the adjacent High Park Convent’s Magdalene laundry.
In more than one case the department is citing information provided by religious orders which contradicts the women’s claims, says Lyon. She has called on the department to furnish the religious orders’ contradictory information to the women and/or their legal representation.
“If there is a factual dispute, then we need to know the basis of their facts,” says Lyon, who has asked the department several times for this information to be provided but has yet to receive it.
‘Informal interviews’
Women whose applications are currently being processed were excluded from the government’s original redress scheme.
Although they worked in Magdalene laundries – or claim to have worked – they did not live in religious institutions which ran the laundries but in adjacent training centres or industrial schools.
Following the scheme’s expansion to include these women, the Department published its addendum which stated that the current cohort of women must provide records of how long they worked in Magdalene laundries in order to receive the ‘work’ element of their lump sum payment.
The department has also stated that applications for redress must be accompanied by “records from that institution and/or from the relevant Magdalene institution stating that you worked in the laundry and the period of time involved”.
Former Magdalene Laundry on Dublin's Sean McDermott street. Niall Carson / PA Images
Niall Carson / PA Images / PA Images
Following the publication of the addendum, 52 applicants who were previously refused access to compensation claims could qualify for the scheme with the department receiving an additional 35 applications from women seeking compensation.
Of the the remaining 78 applicants yet to receive compensation, 52 have provided fully completed forms, according to a department spokesperson, “and we are engaged in a verification process with the congregations in all of these cases”.
Depending on the responses received from the congregations it is likely that an informal interview with some of these applicants will be required.”
Related Reads
'Nobody will be left short': Magdalene Laundry redress to be extended to survivors blocked from compensation
'The nun made us put our hands on electrical panels to get an electric shock'
The department has said that these interviews are necessary “to facilitate a fair assessment of [a woman's] claim where there is insufficient or conflicting documentation available”.
“Each application is assessed individually on its merits. A decision is then made as to whether, on the balance of probabilities, an applicant comes within the scope of the scheme.”
‘Basis of evidence’
Lawyer Maeve O’Rourke, a member of Justice for Magdalenes Research, has raised concerns about the department’s application process and its reliance on religious orders to provide evidence that women worked in Magdalene laundries.
“In any case where nuns are contesting a survivor’s evidence, the woman should be provided with free legal representation.” (There were similar calls during previous Magdalene redress schemes).
O’Rourke cites the Ombudsman’s 2017 report which dismissed the department’s objections to an investigation to establish why it denied 27 women’s compensation applications.
“The Ombudsman’s investigation [published in 2017] found that the Department of Justice failed dismally to guarantee fair procedures to survivors over a period of five years, and without access to free legal representation the women are in an extremely vulnerable position.”
Ombudsman Tyndall told TheJournal.ie in November 2017 that he considered the department’s previous objections to be “disingenuous in the extreme” and an example of “departmental stonewalling”.
As new applications are processed, solicitor Lyon has called for transparency from the Department when questioning whether or not a woman worked in a Magdalene laundry.
“I think they need to make absolutely clear the basis of their so-called evidence, that the women weren’t working in [the laundries],” Lyon has said.
“It’s a source of anxiety to them. A lot of these women are obviously very traumatised to begin with. We’ve had women who’ve practically cried down the phone.”
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
12 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Warning XL Bullies will be 'abandoned en masse' as nationwide ban takes effect
6 hrs ago
4.2k
29
White House
Trump to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday
7 hrs ago
11.6k
Upper House
Seanad election: Hazel Chu loses out on final Trinity seat, while Malcolm Noonan is elected for Greens
Updated
8 hrs ago
43.9k
79
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 141 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 96 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 126 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 96 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 72 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 71 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 35 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 31 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 118 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 58 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 69 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 76 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 36 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 41 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 23 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 78 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 88 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 64 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 46 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 76 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 55 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say