Mr. Peter Tyndall:

I do not have the advantage of having seen the Department's submission to the committee, but I can comment on the issue. The big advantage of this redress scheme was that it did not just provide a single payment in compensation but also provided access to health care and pension rights because people were unable to work and build up contributions. Those are very important aspects of the scheme. We would want to see them fully vindicated for all of the women concerned. I do not want to say that the issues are simple. They are not. There are complex issues around access to health care, some of which still need to be resolved. It was important, however, that they were resolved in respect of the women who were admitted to the scheme, so I cannot see that there would be obstacles to resolving them in respect of women subsequently admitted. The scheme is still open and women can still be admitted to it. If these women are admitted to the scheme, they should be able to access the same package to which women who have already accessed the scheme have entitlement.