The Restorative Justice Scheme

Restorative Justice Scheme for the benefit of those women that were admitted to and worked in the Magdalen Laundries, St Mary’s Training Centre, Stanhope Street and House of Mercy Training School, Summerhill, Wexford

In June 2011 the Irish Government agreed to set up an inquiry to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries.

Senator McAleese chaired the group in question. His report of over 1,000 pages was published in February 2013. For the first time we had an objective factual account of the Magdalen laundries. On the basis of this report, the Taoiseach gave an apology on behalf of the State and the Government and it was decided that a non adversarial scheme should be introduced.

Mr Justice Quirke was asked by the Government to make recommendations on an appropriate scheme. He reported in May 2013 and all his recommendations were accepted in principle by the Government in June 2013. Work started immediately on setting up a scheme and inviting applications.

The Scheme being implemented by the Irish Government was welcomed by the majority of woman. Under the scheme applicants do not have to prove that they suffered any abuse or damages. All that has to be established is that a woman was admitted to and worked in a relevant institution.

Once this has been established, the woman is eligible for a payment of between €11,500 and €100,000 depending on length of stay. As recommended by Judge Quirke, the balance of lump sums in excess of €50,000 is to be paid by weekly instalments.

Both the McAleese Report and the Quirke Report are available on the website of the Department of Justice and Equality www.justice.ie

Other supports to be provided under the Ex-Gratia Scheme include:

Pension type payments

In addition to the lump sum, each woman is entitled to a top up payment to bring her weekly income from the Irish State to €230.30 if 66 or over and €100 if under that age. This aspect of the Scheme is being implemented by the Department of Social Protection.

Health Care

Judge Quirke recommended that the women should have access to an enhanced medical card. He also specifically recommended that legislation should be introduced to give effect to this recommendation. The drafting of this legislation is almost complete. It is expected to be published before the end of 2014 and it will be given priority for enactment.

Applications to the Scheme

To date 772 applications have been received under the Ex-Gratia Scheme and 467 applicants have received lump sum payments at a cost of €17m.

For any queries on the Ex-Gratia Scheme of if you wish to receive an application form please contact the Restorative Justice Implementation Unit which has been set up in the Department of Justice and Equality.

Contact details

Telephone Number: 00 353 1 476 8660

Email: info@idcmagdalen.ie

Postal Address: Restorative Justice Scheme, Department of Justice and Equality, Montague Court, 7-11 Montague Street, Dublin 2