Victims of Catholic laundries to receive pay-out
The Irish government has agreed a payout for victims of the Magdalene laundries.
Thousands of women toiled unpaid under harsh conditions in the Catholic-run laundries, which closed in 1996.
Several hundreds of women may potentially be entitled to a package including compensation of between €11,150–€100,000 depending on length of stay in the laundry, full access to the HAA card (the Health (Amendment) Act 1996 card), and recognition that payments will not affect UK benefits.
The compensation is based on recommendations made in a report by Judge John Quirke, president of the Law Reform Commission.
Patrick Allen, senior partner of Hodge, Jones & Allen, which acted pro bono for the victims, says the announcement has “been a long time coming”.
He said the compensation package was, “at first sight, less generous than the compensation packages offered by the Residential Institutions Redress Board scheme, for those who, as children, were abused while in industrial schools, reformatories and other institutions subject to state regulation or inspection.
“However, the Magdalene payments are increased by the award of a pension payment of €230 per week from pension eligibility age. Also, there appear to be no benefits to families of deceased laundry workers and no legal costs payable to assist applicants to obtain their awards, other than advice on the waiver of claims and to set up a personal injury trust.”
