Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that this issue is being dealt with in this Finance Bill, as was recommended by the Magdalen Commission report. That report recommended that payments, whether lump sum or other, would be tax free. It is sad and must be acknowledged that since the apology from the Taoiseach to these women - and as we discuss this Bill today and its implications for the compensation payments - two of them, who were entitled to compensation, have passed away. No money has been paid out to anybody under the redress scheme at this point in time. There is an onus on all of us to move this on as quickly as possible. That being said, I welcome the amendment.

The original section of the Bill dealt with the "relevant individual" but with this amendment, reference is made to the "relevant payment". What was the logic behind this change? A "relevant individual" was clearly somebody who worked without pay in the laundry or institution, whereas the "relevant payment" refers to those who have been awarded under the redress scheme.