The UN Committee against Torture (UNCAT) issued its concluding observations on Monday 6 June 2011, following Ireland’s first examination in Geneva, under Article 19 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Its concluding observations covered a wide range of areas which impact on the remit of several Government Departments.
In relation to the Magdalen Laundries, the Committee recommended that, "the State should institute prompt, independent, and thorough investigations into all allegations of torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that were allegedly committed in the Magdalen Laundries and, in appropriate cases, prosecute and punish the perpetrators with penalties commensurate with the gravity of the offences committed, and ensure that all victims obtain redress and have an enforceable right to compensation including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible".
The Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries which was independently chaired by the then Senator McAleese was not intended to be a criminal investigation but was a necessary preliminary step in establishing general facts about non-State closed institutions. Some of these institutions had ceased operations nearly 50 years previously and there was no reliable account available of their operations.
The Irish Government is satisfied that the McAleese report is an independent, comprehensive, factual account of these institutions. It brought into the public arena a considerable amount of information not previously known. It also showed that many of preconceptions about these institutions were not supported by the facts.
With regard to prosecutions, the only mechanism to prosecute and punish perpetrators for offences committed in this jurisdiction requires a criminal investigation, a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute and then a criminal trial. Irish law does not provide for any other type of inquiry to lead to criminal prosecutions. Any complaints of criminal behaviour made by individuals to the Gardaí regarding Magdalen laundries are investigated.
Mr Justice Quirke has not been asked to carry out an investigation. He has been asked to advise on a Scheme of Supports for the women in question. I expect that the Government will shortly be able to make an announcement in relation to Justice Quirke's report.
I can inform the Deputy that my Department has recently received a letter from the Rapporteur for the Follow-up on Concluding Observations of UNCAT. The Rapporteur has sought clarification and further information in relation to Ireland’s response of 31 July, 2012. This letter is currently being considered and my Department will issue a response through Ireland's Ambassador at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in due course.
