Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2011
400 Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will issue a comprehensive explanation as to the reason the survivors of the Bethany Homes have been excluded from the interdepartmental committee (details supplied); and the steps he will take to ensure that these victims are given equality of treatment with Catholic victims. [30912/11]
View answerThe 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.
