Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

It should be pointed out that ineligibility to be considered for redress under the terms of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 does not affect a person's statutory right to pursue other legal avenues which may be open to them.

In dealing with correspondence relating to the inclusion of Bethany Home on the Schedule, the issue of the religious ethos was put forward as a possible reason for the decision not to include it. As the religious ethos of an institution was not part of the criteria prescribed under section 4 of the Act, the Department did not require full details of the religious ethos of all the institutions listed. It appears, from records held by my Department, that there are 19 institutions listed that were non-Catholic facilities. Of these, one was multidenominational, five had a Protestant ethos and 13 were run by the State.

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