Kenny to meet UK Magdalene women

Irish  Times

13-2-2013

Mary Minihan

Taoiseach Enda Kenny plans to travel to Britain shortly to meet women who spent time in Magdalene laundries and subsequently left Ireland.

After meeting members of the Magdalene Survivors Together group in Dublin on Monday, Mr Kenny yesterday indicated further meetings with other groups were planned. “I hope before the weekend to carry out a couple of other engagements both here and abroad,” he told the Dáil.

Mr Kenny’s spokesman last night said details of the meetings were being finalised but they would take place within six days.

The Taoiseach is widely expected to deliver an apology on behalf of the State next week when a debate on former senator Martin McAleese’s report on the Magdalene laundries begins in the Dáil.

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar told RTÉ he thought an apology would be forthcoming but the exact nature of the apology “and what flows from it” still had to be worked out.

Labour backbenchers including Aodhán Ó Riordán are pressing for what they describe as a “full” apology.

The matter is an agenda item for this afternoon’s meeting of the Labour parliamentary party.