IRELAND
Irish Times
STEPHEN COLLINS and HARRY McGEE
A political row has erupted over the refusal of Taoiseach Enda Kenny to issue a full apology to the women who spent time in the Magdalene laundries, despite the fact that more than a quarter were sent there by the State.
The official report published yesterday of an interdepartmental committee chaired by Martin McAleese found the women were from many backgrounds. Some were referred by courts, others released on licence from industrial schools before they reached 16 years of age, while some were young women over 16 years of age who had been orphaned or were in abusive or neglectful homes.
The report, which investigated 10 Magdalene laundries run by four congregations found that:
* The number of women who spent time in laundries since 1922 was 10,012;
* Some 2,124 referrals were made or facilitated by the State – 26.5 per cent of the total;
* The average age at the time of entry was 23.8 years;
* The age of the youngest known entrant was nine and the oldest 89;
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