Justice for all the Magdalene women! : Dismissive response from the Irish justice department and Laura Collins reply.

14 October 2015

Dear Ms Collins

I have been asked by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances
Fitzgerald, T.D. to refer to your letter handed into this Department on 22
September, 2015 in which are raised a number of issues concerning the past
treatment of women and children in institutional care in Ireland. I also
refer to your subsequent email dated 29th September 2015.

At the outset, I wish to advise that, with regard to your peaceful protest
on 22nd September, it is the Department’s standard practice for safety and
security reasons to ensure that the front doors of the building remain
closed during protests. Where a letters is intended for the Minister, the
Garda on duty outside accepts delivery and passes it, via the service
staff, to the Minister's Office. This is what happened on the day in
question and there was no intention to cause upset to the protestors.

The Minister also notes your comments regarding your peaceful protest
outside Dáil Eireann and your experience with a member of An Garda
Síochána. The Minister advises that if you have been directly affected by
what you believe is misconduct of a member of An Garda Síochána you can
complain to the Garda Ombudsman. You can do this by sending an email to
complaints@gsoc.ie

The Minister has noted the comments and testimony provided in the letter
and appreciates that past treatment of some of those in institutional care
in Ireland in previous decades has caused considerable hurt to survivors
and to their families. Over the past number of years there have been a
number of reports and investigations that have uncovered the truth of what
occurred in these institutions and a number of schemes have been
established.

You will know that the Residential Institutions Redress Board Scheme, which
is under the remit of the Department of Education, provided redress to
those who had suffered abuse while in residential care as children in 130
specified institutions.

You will also be aware that following on from publication of the McAleese
Report, which looked at the State’s involvement with Magdalen laundries,
the Taoiseach made a public apology in Dáíl Eireann. The Government
subsequently asked Justice John Quirke to advise on an appropriate redress
scheme and his report on the establishment of an ex gratia Scheme and
related matters for the benefit of those women who were admitted to and
worked in the Magdalen Laundries was published in May 2013.

Implementation of this redress Scheme is now well advanced. Under this
scheme the women receive lump sum payments, enhanced medial cards and top
up pension type payments to ensure the remainder of their lives are made as
comfortable as possible. The Scheme as recommended by Judge Quirke and as
agreed by the Irish Government is to provide supports to the Magdalen
women: it does not contemplate payment to persons who may have been
indirectly or otherwise affected by the admission of these women to or
their work within a Magdalen Laundry.

With regard to Mother and Baby Homes, in February 2015, the Minister for
Children and Youth Affairs established a Commission of Investigation. In
accordance with its comprehensive Terms of Reference the Commission is
tasked with thoroughly examining the experience of vulnerable mothers and
children resident in Mother and Baby Homes during the period 1922 to 1998.
The Commission has set up its own website www.mbhcoi.ie and this will
provide details on the work of the Commission and their contact details.

In relation to your deceased Nan, Angela Collins, the Minister appreciates
that the situation regarding placing your Nan in another grave must be very
distressing for the family. However, she has asked me to explain that issue
is not dealt with by her Department but rather by the relevant local
authority and involves very strict rules and regulations.

The Minister has also asked me to inform you that if there are individual
complaints of criminal behaviour the most effective way to deal with them
is to use the existing mechanisms which are in place for the investigation
and, where appropriate, prosecution of criminal offences. There is no
statute of limitations in this jurisdiction in relation to the prosecution
of criminal offences. If you are aware of any such cases you should report
them to An Garda Síochána.

I trust this clarifies the issues raise.

Yours sincerely
Christopher Quattrociocchi
_________________
Christopher Quattrociocchi
Private Secretary to the Minister for
Justice and Equality
**********************************************************************************

Laura Collins reply to the dismissive email that answered non of the questions asked!

14 October 2015.

To,

Christopher Quattrociocchi

My letters might as well have been completely ignored by your department as you have just emailed me with fabricated replies to non asked questions. If you had actually took the time to read my letters or the person who I had actually addressed it to, then you would have addressed the main key issues I actually raised with your department but I don't feel as if you didn't read it as you have mentioned points related to what I said but not addressed what I'm actually saying.

First, I did not ask for you to explain what the women's entitlements are. I am already fully aware regarding what they will get and have gotten. I'm also more than aware regarding the apology to the LIVING magdalene women in 2013, which I had stated in my letters, if you took the time to read my letters and address the main key points then you would know this, that my mum attended the apology for the magdalene women in 2013 hoping for justice on behalf of her mother and for her justice for having to be made to visit the magdalene laundries for 11 years as a child.

I mentioned the apology in my letter because it was another cover up to avoid giving full justice to all the victims created by the state and church. My mothers mother was taken due to prejudices and wrongly had her life taken. If my mother was murdered and we have proof of this. I would expect to gain justice for my mother! Like my mother expects full justice for hers! like I expect justice for my mother and nan! If my mother was taken from me, yet records state she cared and looked after all her children and no safe guarding was needed and I was taken for my family for no real reason apart from a corrupt government influenced by the church and their prejudices. Then I would want and expect and deserve justice! Why was the children of these women not excluded within the apology!? Why was the women who had their life's taken not even given an apology or even a minutes silence on the night?

The magdalene apology was an attempt to hush other victims and fool the world into thinking the magdalene women have been sorted and given full justice, when they have not been as they excluded the dead and their children and I will make sure to make my voice heard regarding the corruptness within the apology and within Ireland!

When children like my mother was made from the age of seven to enter the magdalene laundries for 11 years of her life to witness her mother drugged and had her mums life taken due to neglect and prejudices and children who was taken off their mothers due to prejudices haven't received a apology or was included in the apology in 2013 and the criminals have not been prosecuted. That is not full justice for all those effected by the actions of the state and church and as a justice department who's meant to be there for the people, you cannot defend it and say that is justice!

You have given answers to questions that have been already answered and again, if you read my letters you would know that advising us to contact the garda regarding the nun who sexually abused my mum and physically abused her, to be pointless. It has been over five years we had made our complaint to garda regarding the criminals, yet they are still being protected. They know where she is as I explained in my letter but they cannot bring her back to Ireland supposedly, which is a fail within the justice system, something your team should be looking into and supporting. Your letter would have been more beneficial to us if you actually took the time to read the contents of my letter. If you did, then you would have knew all the advise you had given, was not needed. It looks very much as if you have avoided my actual questions of concern and have filled your email with known information, so you can avoid my questions purposely as you were aware regarding the points.

You mentioned the mother and baby homes, again, you have answered something I didn't asked. I know there is a commission taking place and didn't need that information as I'm fully aware regarding the commission. What I actually stated is that all survivors entering the commission deserve full legal aid and should be supported fully with solicitors and even counselling and this should be confirmed to them! It would have been nice if you could have resured the survivors with knowing they will be supported fully as they are vulnerable people created by the state and church and shouldn't have to pay a penny to gain justice for something that was done to them wrongly and illegally by the state and church. That was my question, again, I stated there was a commission in my last letters, if you read them fully, then you would know that there was no need to inform me but I guess it does help to make you look like you have something to say in your email to look as if you replied.

Regarding my nan, you mention the local council, again, if you read my letter you would know that I explained that we have done that and gained the permission of the council and of the graveyard and all Angela's family members. The problem I raised to your department is regarding the fact the letter stated we needed the churches permission, who owns the plot. Like I had said. We have wrote many letters to the church but we are being ignored.

We are being withheld justice by those who are the criminals and who had taken my nan from my mum and family to use and abuse her for 27 years due to prejudices! Where is my Nan's and mums justice!? Where is the money that my nan worked for while she was a slave during them years! It has gone to fund a corrupt state and church, when it should be given to my mum as her inheritance! Nothing can replace the loss of your mother but it's worse when she has been wrongly taken from your life and her life was wrongly taken and still till this day we are refused the right to bury our relative in a single grave and give her back some form of the freedom she had taken.

So I ask you, as a justice department, what are you actually doing to gain the people justice for those who have been affected or experienced loss from the state and church? Why are you even replying to emails with information that is no use and you know it's no use as I have explained the stages we are at? All the points you have mentioned, I had mentioned we have done it and that we are past them stages. So what is the next step to gain the deserved justice for my nan and mum? That is what you should have been answering if you actually read my letters, or is it because we do not have a next step? Have we completed every procedure there is to try fool and pretend to Ireland their is some form of justice system because from reading your email, you either didn't read my letter because then you would be aware regarding me knowing all the points I raised and would know the stages we are at but again, I don't feel as if you didn't you read it, you had read my letter and this is a form of a way to look like you had replied, when this is not a reply, it's proves that justice within Ireland does not exist, your are either ignored, or not paid attention to and treated as a fool, because everything you had replied with, is what I had made sure to inform you that I was aware of and I made sure to make you aware regarding the stages we are at. So why you felt the need to educate me on the magdalene apology when I know the ins and outs of it as I had to comfort my mother before the apology and after the shock and upset of not receiving an apology nor justice for herself or mother and I even attended Ireland way before the apology to help gain the apology with my mother and a group but I know the reason for your misuse of information, as I said, you just wanted to make sure to fill up your email. I'm surrounded around survivors and I have wrote regarding the magdalene apology and that involved informing others of their entitlements from the scheme, that excludes everything they get and I even personally held a joint protest with living women of the laundries on 15th July regarding changing the personal details on the medical cards. Again, that information was not needed and I didn't request it, like I didn't request being told to go to garda regarding the criminals abuse because like I included in my letters, my mum did that five years ago. Also like I didn't request for you to inform me regarding the mother and baby homes because from my past letters, you was aware that I'm fully aware regarding it as is why I brought it to your attention.

I will be taking this much further, thank you for your letter, it really has proved to me that a justice department in Ireland is only there to pretend the to Irish people they have a justice system, your letter has made me feel the the need to take this much further then within Ireland because your clearly not capable of even replying to a letter and clearly the justice department is just there not for the peoples justice but they are there for illusion reasons for only the governments benefit, like your reply was an illusion to look as if you had replied. When it's very clear you've ignored my main points and wrote to me what I had stated in my letter and what I had already known.

Its laughable for you to even say and think that I would try a gain justice for a common assault on 22nd of September 2015 made by a member of the garda and make a complaint regarding my treatment of being pushed. When the country cannot even give justice to sexual and physical abuse victims many of whom were children. They cannot even give justice to the family's who have had to lose a family member or mother due to the state and church neglect all started by prejudices! Which many of my mums records state! Your justice system is a joke for even cases of sexual abuse and murder. So why would I attempt to gain justice for a common assault. Clearly your state and their robots can do as they wish and get away with it. Over 300 cases were dropped against the garda and that involved women with serve facial injuries. Everyone knows the country's justice system is just as corrupt as the state and church.

Ps: the department was aware regarding us attending on 22nd and was aware that we were peaceful. People who deserve justice and seek your help should not be treated as criminals, also taking into considering that the protest consisted of more children and women a member of the department should have came to the door and accepted the letter and not a member of the garda. It also would have been nice if the person i addressed the letters to actually took the time to reply and read the letters. Instead of you just telling them the main points and then her telling you what to say to the main points, which didn't even answer any of the questions I actually asked regarding the state and church abuse and the magdalene apology and mother and baby homes victims.

Like the Irish state and church have failed my family, now so has the justice department. I look forward to your reply to my actual concerns if that is something your department is capable of doing. If you cannot address my actual points and reply with fabricated answers like you did in your last email, then please don't bother wasting yours or my time and treating me as a fool who will just accept the rude dismissive email of using already published information as your reply by your department because as I have said I will be taking this further above all off your heads regardless because your reply screams millions for the Irish justice system who is meant to be there for the people and sadly for those who seek justice and deserve it, we will clearly not get it through the department as there isn't a real justice system for the people, but that doesn't mean we will stop fighting for what your department claims to be there for.

Regards,

Miss, Collins.

**************************************************

Prove that we had already requested