Govt under pressure to make nuns pay into Magdalene redress fund

The government is under pressure to demand that all four religious congregations involved in the Magdalene Laundries make a contribution to the redress fund 

The Good Shepherd Sisters, The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, The Sisters of Mercy and Sisters of Charity have refused to pay into the scheme.

They say they'll help in other ways including providing care for 100 or so women who are still in residential care.

The Justice Minister Alan Shatter says he's disappointed by their decision, and that he believes they have a moral obligation to pay into the fund.

However, he said he could not force the religious congregations to contribute to the redress scheme.

 

Minister Shatter came under pressure in the Dail to reveal what meetings had been held with the congregations and to disclose what had been said at the meetings.

Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald said the government must insist that the nuns contribute to the fund.

She said the government had been given "the brush off" by the congregations.

 

 

Minister Shatter said he agreed with Deputy McDonald that the nuns had a moral, ethical and social obligation, but he said he didn't believe anything can be achieved by being abusive.

He said he wasn't going to pretend there was something he could do that was not possible, for the sake of a newspaper headline.

The Minister urged the congregations to reconsider their decision.