IRELAND
Irish Times

MARIE O’HALLORAN and MICHAEL O’REGAN

A former Fianna Fail minister has apologised for not investigating the Magdalene laundries when the party was in government.

Party leader Micheál Martin, who chaired the committee dealing with industrial school abuse, told the Dáil he was “sorry we didn’t deal with the Magdalene laundries at the time”.

Mr Martin said the committee led to a State apology to survivors of industrial schools. He told Taoiseach Enda Kenny that the 1,400 page report published yesterday on the Magdalene laundries “doesn’t take any stigma away. The report doesn’t take any stigma away. The only effective way for the stigma to be removed by the State is to apologise,” the Fianna Fail leader said, with “no ifs and no buts”.

The Fianna Fáil leader was speaking during leaders questions when the Taoiseach was repeatedly pressed to give a full and proper apology to…