Ms Laura McGarrigle:

On the question about taking account of the period when the child was in utero, the policy proposals that were developed and the general scheme do not provide for that time to be taken into account in terms of the six months, including the period before the birth of the child.

On expert advice, the IDG considered whether there was a specific question that it could put to an expert in trauma in order to assist in its deliberations. At the same time, and it was a point that the IDG considered very carefully as part of its deliberations, the IDG listened to feedback from stakeholders and looked at national and international evidence that talked about a scheme that would be non-adversarial and kind in approach and would not be grounded in people having to relive their trauma and provide evidence of abuse. All of this caused the IDG to propose very strongly the general payment approach that would provide for a single common experience payment, grounded in the length of stay, as a way of recognising these harsh institutional experiences without requiring people to bring forward evidence of abuse. The IDG did not look to bring in experts that would speak to individual trauma at the level of designing an individualised approach. Again, it was very mindful not to disregard in any way the experience of children who were in a mother and baby home for fewer than six months, and instead to recognise counselling support and access to records as key measures that would respond to needs that the IDG understood had been raised as priority needs in that regard.