Departmental Investigations

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2011

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Questions (145)

Seán Crowe

Question:

147 Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views, in the context of his decision to appoint Senator Martin McAleese to review interactions between the State and Roman Catholic Magdalene Laundry institutions, but not a directly comparable institution with a Protestant evangelical ethos (details supplied) that this is a form of discrimination against residents in the home that may contravene Article 44. 3 of the Constitution; and the reason he will not allow Senator McAleese to look also at State interactions with the home. [20278/11]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter)

The Government has charged the inter-departmental committee with clarifying any State interaction with the Magdalen institutions and producing a narrative detailing such interaction. There are presently no plans to expand its brief beyond those institutions. Magdalen institutions are not a particularly Roman Catholic phenomenon. Many such institutions were founded by lay people in the 19th century both in Britain and Ireland to provide a place of refuge or asylum for women. However at the time the State was established, the 10 Magdalen institutions in the 26 counties were run by Roman Catholic religious congregations.