IRELAND
Irish Times
Harry McGee
Analysis While there was some sense to his approach, Kenny’s response imploded
The report by Senator Martin McAleese into the Magdalene homes painted a picture of the bleak, harsh, shackled and indentured lives of a cohort of vulnerable, exploited and forgotten women in Irish society – or “penitents” as they were branded by Irish society during three-quarters of a century from 1922.
When addressing the Dáil yesterday Taoiseach Enda Kenny described his experience of reading the 1,000-page report the previous night as “harrowing”.
For a politician renowned for his emotional intelligence, that was surprisingly as empathetic as he has got over the past two days. Formally, the response from him, from Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and from the Government to the report to date has been qualified, conditional and legalistic.
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.