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GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND State agencies used Magdalene laundries to do their washing over a period of many years, the report into the laundries has found.
The report notes that the State giving business to the laundries could be considered “indirect financial support”.
However it notes that there was no evidence to suggest a “deliberate policy or preference by State agencies for use of Magdalene or other institutional laundries over non-religious-operated laundries”.
Where the Magdalene Laundries won a contract from the State, it was either the only or else the cheapest tender that was submitted.
The report looked at specific records available from the laundry on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin’s north inner city between 1960 and 1966.
It found that State contracts amounted to an average 18 per cent of the total business of the laundry and was worth £46,449 in business over the six years – around €150,000 in today’s money.
Among the State bodies which used the laundry to do its washing were:
A number of State-funded hospitals and clinics also used the laundry, including Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Jervis Street Hospital, Crumlin Hospital and a TB clinic on Charles Street.
An advertisement in a newspaper looking for laundry contractors for the Department of Education. The image was included in the report.
Surprisingly, the government used formal tender processes almost from Independence, with strict adherence to procedure.
The report notes:
Although the above Government Departments and State agencies were repeat customers of the Sean McDermott Street laundry over the 6 years for which records survive, payment for laundry services provided was slow and frequently outstanding for lengthy periods.
The report found that many government departments destroyed financial records after a set period of time, which meant little or no information was available in some cases.
However in others it was possible to measure the exact volume of business involved, and the committee behind the report used archived material from government departments, State agencies and the religious congregations in order to build up a more complete picture of how much money was involved.
The remainder of the business of the Laundry was made up by hotels, which were considered the mainstay of the business, as well as school, private companies, and individuals.
Full coverage of the report into the Magdalene Laundries is here, including:
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The spot light is on the laundries and the government of yesteryear at the moment. However, when things die down… Apologies made and the victims compensated. .. Will anything have really changed? I think not!
It was a different time then… But the public knew about the laundries. Like the public knew of the other indiscretions of the church. Yet nothing was done. Our government facilitated the laundries. .. They benefited from the laundries.
I would argue that the same is going on today. Our lives are being toyed with as the government (officials) of today line their pockets with our taxes as we struggle to feed our children. We are now the abused.
Health care costs, water taxes, garda hiring freeze, high salaries of government officials, huge pensions of government officials, decrease in benefits to the elderly, less support to the less abled community. .. Who is suffering? We are… Do we have the power to change this… NO! The Irish constitution limit our democratic ability to raise alarm and pursue justice. Justice against the government system can only be waged by a government official. So we are stuck with demonstrations. Demonstration that seldom amounts to change.
We all know about these things but we are unable to change the things, like the people of yesteryear against the laundries.
The plot thickens. Contracts/Statements of Accounts/Receipts – just like the minutes of the bank bailout, destroyed.
Are we surprised they don’t have morals
They were still probably claiming washing expenses
Of course they did.
This report is airing the governments dirty laundry
Dot Cotton was held up in one of these laundries for a long time… Wonder what she makes of all this?
Your puerile comment detracts from the seriousness of this issue.
@John F Thats a disgracefull comment to make about such a serious issue
Marlon you are so right! Albert Einstein said in a letter to Sigmund Freud in 1932, The minority the ruling classes at present, has the schools and press, and usually the church [can now also be called the 'Markets' as we seem to always worry about how the markets will respond rather than worry about the welfare of our neighbour] well under its thumb this enables it to organize and sway the emotions of the masses, and makes a tool of them.last year 7,467 people in this country were imprisoned for non payment of fines and this accounts for the vast majority of women commited to prison. maybe in fifty years time we will look back on this period and ask how did we allow this to happen or maybe not! all truth goes through three stages riducule-violent opposition-accepted as self evident. we just take a long time to learn i guess!
And they wiped their feet on their backs.
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