Further Criticism of State’s Approach to Victims of Magdalen Laundries

Following on from Aoife’s post yesterday, my colleague in UCD (although in a different department), Dr. Katherine O’Donnell (left) yesterday sharply criticised Minister O’Keefe’s description of women in the Magdalen Laundries as “employees”. The Irish Times today carries some of Katherine’s comments in a short piece that is available here. The following extract communicates the tenor of the piece:

Dr O’Donnell…pointed out that “an employee voluntarily gives his/her labour; is properly rewarded; and has a right to represesentation /free association with a union.” None of these were available to women in the Magdalen laundries, she said.

The State had “a responsibility to all of its citizens”, she said, including the many referred by its courts to the laundries.