Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The sort of schemes that relied on evidence being brought forward have been replaced. The stolen generation scheme in Australia originally used an evidence-based approach but moved to a time-based approach, talking about a common experience. We believe a time-based approach is the right way to go to recognise the impact on individuals of time spent in these institutions. That is the basis of the approach we are taking.

With regard to Deputy Sherlock's question on the waiver, it is worth stating that the waiver only applies in respect of a payment. It does not apply to the medical card. It is only signed at the point of the offer of the financial payment. The applicant under the scheme knows the amount that he or she is being offered and is in a position to make a judgment on whether the offer is something he or she can accept in signing a waiver. Recognising that is a significant decision, we provide for legal advice, the cost of which is met under the scheme. Everyone signing a waiver has the capacity to access legal advice. With regard to the questions asked about their desire to access justice, that is, justice through the civil courts and civil proceedings, up until that point, a survivor has the right to pursue a case through the courts.

We have taken a different approach to previous schemes in that there is no restriction on speaking about the award, its size or what it is made from. That is an improvement in this scheme. It is a common feature of ex gratiaschemes such as this to ask those who receive a reward to sign a waiver relating to other legal cases. That is a recognition of the simplification of this process vis-á-visa court process where one has all the risk of proving one's case to the balance of probability standard in a civil case, whereas in these situations where an applicant's residency is proved for a certain period, the payment is made. It is on the basis of that much more simplified process where an applicant has a far better chance of receiving a payment than under a case taken in the civil courts that the waiver is a kind of quid pro quofor that element of the process.