Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2020
71. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if he still accepts the sixth recommendation of a person (details supplied) to provide a suitable memorial to the victims and survivors of Magdalen laundries following the State apology made in 2013. [30368/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government fully accepts the 6th recommendation of the Quirke Report and is committed to the objective to provide a suitable memorial.
Work is ongoing on the provision of a memorial to the women who were resident in the Magdalen laundries. Sites have been identified at High Park, Drumcondra and Seán McDermott Street, both located in Dublin and each former sites of laundries.
The Seán McDermott site is under control of Dublin City Council (DCC) and while it had a proposal for development at the site and had advanced a planning application, this application was refused and therefore DCC had to rethink the proposal. DCC is working to find a suitable tenant for the site and is committed to providing a suitable area within any potential development on the site to host a memorial.
At High Park, the site is in the possession of Respond Housing Agency which has planning approved to provide 101 social housing units on the former Magdalen laundry lands. It has identified a part of the site which will form a linear park and will be suitable for a memorial. The Government has set aside €500,000 for the memorial and a steering committee of relevant stakeholders has been proposed to be formed in Q4 2020 to progress the memorial at this site.
The Government has committed to provide funding for memorials at these two sites.
