IRELAND
Irish Examiner
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Less than one-third of Magdalene Laundry survivors have received compensation from the State — one year after Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised to victims in the Dáil.
By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter
The Department of Justice has said it has received 684 applications from women who were incarcerated in Magdalene Laundries run by the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of Charity, the Good Shepherd Sisters, and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity.
The department has issued 300 letters of formal offer and another 32 provision assessments have been issued. A total of 206 women have accepted the formal offer and payments of €5.6m have been issued.
None of the 684 applicants have, to date, received their statutory, old-age pensions or health care benefits.
The Department of Justice has said it is currently finalising the drafting of the necessary legislation to provide the medical provisions recommended in the Quirke report.
Steven O’Riordan, Magdalene Survivors Together, expressed concern that survivors were being offered lesser amounts of compensation than they were entitled to due to the records of the Orders not matching the accounts of the women in terms of duration of stay.
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