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The treatment of a former garda who fell pregnant out of wedlock in the 1980s was \u201cwrong on every level\u201d, the Taoiseach has said.<\/p>\nThe treatment of a former garda who fell pregnant out of wedlock in the 1980s was \u201cwrong on every level\u201d, the Taoiseach has said.<\/p>\n
Leo Varadkar said Majella Moynihan had been made to feel shame, was pressurized to give up her child and penalized in a sexist way by senior gardai.<\/p>\n
The Cork woman became pregnant outside of marriage after joining the Garda in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
The father of the child was also a Garda trainee.<\/p>\n
He was fined 90 Irish pounds.<\/p>\n
She was threatened with dismissal and pressurized into giving up her baby son for adoption.<\/p>\n
Her case became known after she was interviewed for an RTE radio documentary that aired over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar told the D\u00e1il on Tuesday that Ms Moynihan\u2019s story had \u201cvery much gripped the nation\u201d in recent days and that it gave \u201cfurther insight into our country and into our past\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was deeply moving and it was almost unbelievable except that those of us that did grow up in Ireland in the 1980s can believe how it was true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was done to her was wrong on every level, her privacy was invaded, she was made to feel shame, she was pressurized to give up her child, and the way she was penalized was deeply sexist when you consider that the man involved was only subject to a fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Taoiseach said he demonstrated how far Ireland had \u201cchanged for the better\u201d since 1984.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s Mary Lou McDonald, who raised the matter during Leaders\u2019 Questions, said Ms Moynihan\u2019s case highlighted the \u201cawful misogynistic\u201d Ireland of the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Ms McDonald said the former garda, who left the force in 1998, was not to have a successful career in the Garda because she fell pregnant while out of wedlock.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was vilified, she was isolated, and damaged in the most fundamental ways,\u201d Ms McDonald said.<\/p>\n
The Sinn F\u00e9in leader said the State has an obligation to ensure Ms Moynihan is awarded a full pension.<\/p>\n
She also called on the Government to establish whether other women in the force were treated in a similar way.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar said he would have no difficulty in apologising on behalf of the State to Ms Moynihan and any other women that may have been treated similarly.<\/p>\n
But he said he did not know whether other women had been subject to similar treatment.<\/p>\n
Ms McDonald also asked the Taoiseach whether he had spoken to former Justice Minister Michael Noonan about Ms Moynihan\u2019s treatment.<\/p>\n
The Dublin Central TD told the Dail Mr Noonan had spoken to Ms Moynihan a decade ago and he told her that it was an internal Garda matter.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar said he had not spoken to Mr Noonan about the issue.<\/p>\n
The Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan have apologized to Ms Moynihan.<\/p>\n
She is due to meet them both in the coming days.<\/p>\n