Magdalene Survivors: Strip Orders of State Funding

BBC News
July 17, 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23339830

The former Magdalene Laundry building in New Ross

The laundries were Catholic-run workhouses in Ireland

A group representing survivors of the Magdalene laundries has urged the Irish government to cease state funding and strip the religious orders that ran them of their charitable status.

The Mercy Sisters, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Sisters of Charity and the Good Shepherd Sisters refused to financially compensate the survivors.

Magdalene Survivors Together said it was appalling that the Irish government could not hold the religious orders to account.

"The perpetrators of the crimes and the enormous suffering with which these women have suffered is being made a mockery of by the religious orders," group spokesperson Steven O'Riordan said.

Shame

"We now have a situation whereby the orders who ran these institutions have given the Magdalene women and the Irish people the two fingers."

Magdalene survivor Marina Gambold called on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to act.

"What these religious orders have done is so disrespectful to all the women who were in those laundries," Ms Gambold said.

"They destroyed our lives; they took my human rights away from me. They brought shame and hurt to our country and the government is just allowing them to insult us like this.

"I thought Enda was a better than this. I looked into his eye and I told him my story. He quoted my story the night of the official apology and now our leader allows these nuns to do this".

The Irish government said the support scheme will cost between 35m-58m euros (£30m-£50m).

However, the four orders said they are willing to assist in all other aspects of the scheme.

The redress package is based on recommendations by Mr Justice John Quirke, who was asked by the cabinet to devise eligibility criteria. He was asked for proposals to set up a scheme to compensate women and bring "healing".

The scheme's other recommendations include the assembly of records, and looking after former residents.

Redress

The laundries were Catholic-run workhouses where thousands of women and girls had to do unpaid, manual labour.

Payments will range from 11,500 euros (£9,000) for women who spent three months or less in a laundry, to a maximum of 100,000 euros (£85,000) for ten years or more.

Payment is not dependent on proof of hardship, injury or abuse. About 600 survivors are to receive forms by post to enable them to apply for redress.

Relatives of the deceased are not covered by the scheme, unless they had registered an expression of interest before 19 February 2013.

The former residents of the laundries will also receive a range of supports, including an enhanced Irish medical card and pension.

About 10,000 women passed through the laundries in the Republic of Ireland between 1922 and 1996, according to a report in February.