Magdalen laundries memorialisation
Deputy Gannon asks whether the Government will honour Quirke report commitments on memorialisation for Magdalen laundries survivors. The Tánaiste says yes, though the form will be developed with survivors and the responsible Minister needs time to get up to speed.
I refer the Tánaiste back to the world before Covid-19. In February 2013, the Tánaiste's predecessor as leader of Fine Gael and former Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny, made a heartfelt and profound apology to victims and survivors of the Magdalen laundries. In May 2013 that apology came with a suite of recommendations from Mr. Justice John Quirke on how we could memorialise and give basic provisions to those survivors. Many of those promises have still not been fulfilled, and few of them are contained in the programme for Government. Recommendation 6 from Mr. Justice Quirke was about memorialisation. Does the Tánaiste envisage that being delivered under this Government?
Comment on this
The short answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". It may not be specifically referenced in the programme for Government, but the new Government will want to honour the commitments the last Government made to the survivors of the Magdalen laundries. Memorialisation is part of that. What form or shape it will take will have to discussed, especially with the survivors. This issue is one of the responsibilities of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy O'Gorman. He will need a few weeks or so to get on top of all those issues, but I know he will take that matter very seriously. He will also be responsible for the report on the mother and baby homes, which I believe will give rise to similar issues when it is produced later this year.