A report compiled by the committee investigating the treatment of women in Magdalene laundries will be published in about four weeks, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said.
It is expected that the final report will be submitted to the Minister within 10 days.
"As soon as I have had an opportunity to read what I understand to be a very substantial report, I will bring it to Government and it will then be published. I expect its publication within approximately four weeks," Mr Shatter said.
The independent interdepartmental committee, chaired by Senator Martin McAleese,was forced to extend the publication time-frame after new material emerged. The final report was originally due to be published last September and an interim report was published the following month.
The Justice for Magdalenes group said at the time that it was “shocked and disappointed” by the delay and called on the State “to issue an immediate apology and implement a reparation scheme for women incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries.”