Yesterday, the women of the Magdalen laundries heard the words they needed to hear. It is now crucial they are properly compensated for what was done to them. Tá a fhios ag an Taoiseach gur tús maith, leath na hoibre. Chuir na mná fáilte roimh an óráid an-mhaith agus na focail an-fhlaithiúil a labhair sé inné. Today, I want to tease out with the Taoiseach some of the details of Mr. Justice Quirke's terms of reference. An ex gratia scheme is to be established which is essentially a payment without an admission of liability. Is this not at odds with the sentiments of the Taoiseach's remarks last night and with the McAleese report, both of which accepted that the State is liable for what happened to these women? Will Mr. Justice Quirke be given statutory powers? Will there be an independent appeals mechanism for the women? I note the terms of reference include the laundry at Stanhope Street but there is no reference to Summerhill in Wexford. Will Summerhill be included as well?

No one wants runaway legal fees but I presume some consideration will be given to allowing some form of legal representation to those women who feel they may need it, such as women who want to remain anonymous. The advocacy groups only represent a minority of women. As the Taoiseach knows, the vast majority of the women do not want to be known. I say all of this in a good spirit. Again I commend the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Government for their remarks last night.

I thank Deputy Adams for his remarks on this matter. One of the really strong points coming from the groups of Magdalen women was that they wanted the State to apologise but they also wanted a system which was effective, clear, fair, non-adversarial and non-legalistic. The terms of reference presented by the Minister for Justice and Equality to Cabinet, and adopted by it for Mr. Justice Quirke, are to work out a scheme and a strategy that will give recognition to those principles. That is why the judge has been asked to report back within three months and to put in place a set of recommendations for Government to consider in regard to the fund, how it should be dispensed and taking into account those principles of not being adversarial and not being a gravy train for those who might assume so from a legalistic or an administrative point of view. That was the very strong wish expressed by the women who were in the Magdalen laundries and is what we want to try to achieve.

The president of the Law Reform Commission, Mr. Justice Quirke, is an exceptional choice to do this and I am quite prepared to let him start his work with his team to address those principles so that we can deal with this as comprehensively, as sensitively and as compassionately as possible, taking into account the fact some women have never told their story and some want complete anonymity. We do not want this bandied about in a way that would have a further devastating impact on them.

We have taken step one and the process is now in train for persons to contact the Department of Justice and Equality. On the instructions of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr. Justice Quirke will start his work in devising a set of recommendations for Government to deal with and, as I said, taking those principles into account. As this work proceeds, we will take the advice, as the case may be, of Members of the House, who were very supportive yesterday.

I thank the Taoiseach. I accept that Mr. Justice Quirke is a very good person to head up this but he will be bound by his terms of reference and will not be able to act outside them, so all of the questions I have raised are very pertinent and, indeed, some of them have been raised by advocacy groups for the Magdalen women. We need to ensure no one is unjustly excluded from compensation.

A number of us brought in the women sufferers of symphysiotomy and we gave them a standing ovation. Until last night, that was the best occasion I spent in this Dáil. The symphysiotomy sufferers are still waiting for justice. The survivors of the Bethany Home were failed by the State but are not part of this scheme. Will the Government take up their cases as a matter of urgency? The Taoiseach did not answer the question on Summerhill.

I trust that we will have the opportunity to tease out the detail of the terms of reference. The terms of reference refer to "women who are now resident in Britain" but do not say anything about women who are resident in the United States of America and elsewhere. I welcome the Tánaiste's remarks on the question of whether the religious orders will be asked to contribute to compensating the women. This is an attempt to get prompt, transparent delivery on what the Taoiseach said yesterday evening. I stress that this is a non-party political issue. The questions I ask are very valid and we need answers to them.

The Minister for Justice and Equality is considering the question of Bethany Home which was not a laundry but dealt with the health and welfare of young women and their children. The terms of reference set out for Mr. Justice Quirke are designed to give expression to simplicity, effectiveness, compassion and comprehensive dealings. The report, as Deputy Gerry Adams is aware, is very complex and covers a large range of individual circumstances and stories. That is why the women in particular want this done in a non-adversarial, non-tortuous and non-litigious way. It is for that reason that Mr. Justice Quirke will look at the question of identifying the criteria and factors to be taken into account to facilitate the early establishment and effective conduct of a scheme for the benefit of those women who were admitted to and worked in the Magdalen and Stanhope Street laundries. Deputy Gerry Adams will also be aware that because of the exceptional work done by the Step by Step centre in Britain with substantial numbers of people who were in Magdalen laundries, the Government has decided to allocate €250,000 to the organisation once the relevant paperwork on its charitable status is dealt with.

Mr. Justice Quirke has also been asked to examine how best to operate a fund of a sum sufficient to meet the requirements he sets out. That will take into account the engagement he has with the Magdalen people over the next 12 weeks. He will also look at the supports some of these people need, be it counselling, medical cards, mental health services and other welfare provision. The Minister for Social Protection made the point that we must make sure there is a disregard in place so that any allocation does not impact on a person's social welfare payments. The same should apply in the case of those who are in England because if one makes a direct payment, it will have an impact on the social welfare payments they receive.

The women I met strongly insisted that they did not want a repeat of the redress board process. Under no circumstances do they want that. What we want in these terms of reference is to be simple, effective, non-adversarial, non-litigious and, at the same time, as fair and balanced as possible.

On Summerhill, Taoiseach.

Summerhill is an issue the Government can consider in due course. I know it is the institution in County Wexford. It is a matter for Cabinet to consider in due course.

It is not excluded.

As the work proceeds, every Member will want it to be done in the best way possible. That is where we should be.