Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In relation to amendment No. 18, the wording "as soon as practicable" gives too much discretion to the chief deciding officer. There is no reason a decision cannot be reached within the time limit of 28 days, as specified in section 16(1)(a), and an additional 28 days, as specified in our amendment.

Amendment No. 19 states "shall, when the applicant has reached the age of 75 years or older, prioritise the applicant and process within 15 days". We know many survivors have passed away since the Taoiseach's apology on 13 January 2021 and many are elderly. Given the resources rightly being appointed to the office of the chief deciding officer and the general scheme, we believe those who have reached the age of 75 should be prioritised and the turnaround time of an application must be no more than 28 days initially for acknowledgement, and a further 15 days to process and notify the decision of the chief deciding officer. People at various times, including some Deputies, have asked if there was any way to give interim payments on the basis of people's age. This would help prioritise elderly people.

Amendment No. 23 is a technical language amendment. It states: "In page 25, line 23, to delete "as soon as is practicable" and substitute "within 28 days"." It is a follow-on if the other amendments were to be passed.