Ach an oiread le mo chomhghleacaithe, ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an Taoiseach as ucht an leithscéal a gabhadh inné, lá stairiúil do na mná a d'fhulaing ins na hionaid Maigdiléanacha. Céim dhearfach chun cinn í sin agus tá súil agam go leanfar leis na moltaí a cuireadh os comhair an Tí inné. I also welcome the full apology offered by the Taoiseach yesterday. That apology is extremely apt and a recognition of the great campaign in which the women who were kept in the Magdalen laundries have engaged. I hope the plight of those who were put into the Bethany Home in Summerhill and also that of the survivors of symphysiotomy will be taken into consideration and that their cases will be dealt with swiftly also.

I wish to draw a slight analogy in this matter. The Taoiseach's apology on behalf of the State is welcome. However, on numerous occasions during my two years as a Member of this House I have outlined my hope a similar apology will not be required from a future Taoiseach in respect of the direct provision system. I have grave concerns about the system of direct provision and I am of the opinion that it must be reviewed. Coverage in the press this morning indicates that some €655 million was paid to the private companies which ran the direct provision system during the past ten years. These companies have unlimited status and, therefore, we are not in a position to discover the level of profits they have made. These profits were made on the backs of people kept in conditions that were far from satisfactory from a civil rights perspective.

I appreciate that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, is processing asylum applications faster than his predecessors. However, organisations such as the Irish Refugee Council continue to raise serious questions about the conditions which obtain in the direct provision system. The Ombudsman has called for oversight of the organisations which administer the asylum system. A debate is required on the direct provision system in the light of the new information to which I refer in order that we might discover the level of profits the companies involved are making. Such a debate might also be of assistance in discovering whether there is a better way to deal with asylum applications and with those who are obliged to engage with the system. I sincerely hope it will not be necessary for the State to issue an apology to these individuals at some point in the future.

I also congratulate the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste on the genuinely moving and considered speeches they made in the Dáil yesterday. I must admit that I became very emotional about yesterday's events. I take the opportunity to remember the work of the late Mary Raftery, a journalist who tirelessly worked to expose institutional abuses. We owe a debt of gratitude to her for that work. It is important to remember that what is happening is a step along the road. The real proof of the pudding will lie in the quality of the redress that will be given to the victims of the Magdalen laundries. I regret to say that I do not believe this is the end of the story. There are many hidden histories in Ireland which remain to be uncovered. In that context, I refer to what occurred in county homes. As a young child, my father took me to visit an elderly relative in one of these homes. During our visit I saw through an open ward door an elderly lady sitting naked. I heard noises in that institution the likes of which I had never heard previously. Will the Leader bring to the attention of the Minister the fact that what we need to do now is, as Donogh O'Malley put it in 1969, take the skin off the pudding. Rather than waiting until the next unfortunate case is brought to our attention, we should consider establishing a permanent national investigations unit which could look into all of the institutions of the State to uncover evidence of any outstanding instances of abuse.

I, too, compliment and commend the Taoiseach for the very full apology he offered yesterday. I do not believe anybody expected anything less of him, it was just a matter of timing. I also include the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin and everyone else involved in yesterday's debate. I became extremely emotional when I saw all Members of Dáil Éireann give a standing ovation to the survivors seated in the Visitors Gallery. We normally give standing ovations to world leaders and celebrities. Yesterday one was given to decent human beings who had suffered quietly. That ovation was also related to the memory of those who had passed on. It is not just a matter of raising the spirits of the survivors; we have raised the spirits of the entire nation because we did the right thing. There are lessons to be learned from this.

On a completely separate and unconnected matter, yesterday I referred to Ms Marion Price who is incarcerated in Northern Ireland and currently in hospital in a very frail state. I welcome the Taoiseach's statement yesterday to the effect that he intends to raise the matter with the British Prime Minister and draw on the report of the all-party delegation which visited Ms Price. He will have a direct opportunity to raise a few fundamental questions about issues such as the location of a royal pardon given to Ms Price, why she is being subjected to a flawed process in respect of her appeal which is due to be heard in a couple of weeks and why human rights are being sidelined in this matter. This issue does not just relate to Ms Price, it also involves the need to be vigilant when it comes to the frailties in the appeals process. It is not just matters relating to prisoners, republicanism or unionism which are at stake. There are other issues relating to social deprivation and the fact that individuals have been sidelined and that there are individuals who have seen nothing good coming from the Good Friday Agreement or the appeals process. If we do not engage with those to whom I refer and individuals who have difficulties with flags, etc., there is always a danger that a new generation who have no connection with the past will come to the fore and focus on matters with which their communities have a particular difficulty. The Seanad played a significant role during the Troubles in bringing balance and a focus to fundamental and urgent issues as they arose. It can continue to do so. I am very pleased that the Taoiseach is prepared to take this matter to the highest level. I urge that this be done immediately because Ms Price's review will take place in two weeks.