Ms Aoife Conduit:

We understand the point that is being made about impact of the payment on those living in the UK. Obviously, people do not want our State giving with one hand and another state taking away with the other. That is something we are aware of and something we have been engaging with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on, because the same issue may arise with the mother and baby home payment scheme. We are going to work with the Department to contact our counterparts in the UK Department for Work and Pensions to talk through with them what can be done to make sure it is addressed. It is something that is already on our radar. We certainly will be progressing it as the Bill goes through.

On the question of the enhanced medical card, we are trying to ensure equity of treatment is provided. Particularly with the mother and baby homes, the enhanced medical card does provide for additional services. I understand the Deputy's point about blood tests and all of that. The card does not cover absolutely everything. That is something that will have to be addressed in respect of the wider services covered by the medical card and the enhanced medical card. It may cause difficulties if we were to isolate particular services or whatever in this legislation that would be different from those being provided for the mother and baby home residents.

On the role of Sage Advocacy, I would say that it is not going to be just an information dissemination service. We are engaging with Sage Advocacy and it is currently recruiting. It will provide a regionally based service that will provide a face-to-face or one-to-one contact point for survivors. It has not completely fleshed out everything that the service will entail. That is something we are working with it on at the moment. By the end of the year, we intend to bring our survivors' consultative forum together to explain to them exactly how it will work and to disseminate that more widely.

The point made by One in Four about seeking justice in the courts system has been made before. There are difficulties with the State, through one Government Department, supporting civil or criminal actions. I am not sure it is possible to address that in this particular Bill, but we are certainly engaging with One in Four as we go forward. It has been very supportive in our consultation with the organisation on what is appropriate for survivors and what can be done.

The work on the national centre for research and remembrance is well under way. I am on the steering group. As the Deputy is aware, a memo for Government was issued during the summer, outlining the five-year plan. The centre will be on the site of the former Magdalen laundry on Seán MacDermott Street. It is important to say that a national and State approach is being taken. The National Museum of Ireland is very heavily involved, along with the National Archives of Ireland. From the Department's perspective, we are interested in two things, one of which is memorialisation. We want this to be a site of conscience for the State, for all those who suffered in these institutions. It will also be a very important national archive where the records and testimonies of survivors remain safe for posterity. We are working very closely with the National Archives of Ireland and with the legislative subgroup to determine what might be needed in terms of legislation to bring that forward for the national centre.