A motion on the Magdalene Laundries is to be moved by Sinn Fein next week, according the TheJournal.ie.

The motion calls for "immediate and meaningful discussions about an apology and redress from the State" on the abuse that took place at the infamous institution during the 20th century.

Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald said the motion has the support of 17 other  Independent TDs and called for the support of "each and every member of the Dáil."

Sinn Fein is also asking for the funding for a helpline for the survivors of the Laundries, many of whom are now ageing and elderly.

“Sinn Féin brings forward this motion in recognition of the huge injustice done to the women and girls of the Magdalene Laundries and of the hurt and hardship caused by their exclusion from the Residential Institutional Redress Scheme,” said McDonald.

"The treatment of the 30,000 women and girls of the Magdalene Laundries goes to the very core of what was wrong historically in Irish society.

“To date they have not received the recognition or redress that they deserve. The women are now predominantly aging or elderly and it is of the utmost priority and urgency that their search for justice is responded to in full by the government and the state. Their case is unanswerable and justice must be done.”