IRELAND
Irish Times
PAMELA DUNCAN
The report on State involvement in the Magdalene laundries cost just over €11,000, compared with €168 million spent on four statutory inquiries preceding it.
The Ferns inquiry cost €2.3 million, the Murphy and Cloyne reports €3.6 million and €1.9 million respectively in 2011. More than €160 million has been paid in legal fees relating to the Ryan report.
The interdepartmental committee was set up in July 2011 by the Government to establish State involvement in 10 Magdalene laundries.
Chaired by Senator Martin McAleese, it looked at records from four religious orders – the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Religious Sisters of Charity, and the Sisters of Mercy. All records were “opened fully and without restriction” to the committee.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.