Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I accept the sincerity of the Deputy's comments. This is an unfortunate series of incidents in the history of the State particularly regarding this particular institution. There is an enormous volume of correspondence on file in the Department from this institution making the case and all sorts of evidence has been looked at. At the end of the day, while the possible inclusion of Bethany Home could have been examined on the grounds that it operated as a children's home, other institutions such as psychiatric hospitals could equally have been considered. However, the Government decided against extending the redress scheme, which has been in existence since 2002 and the redress board is finalising the remaining applications before it. The Department of Justice and Law Reform is prepared to deal with any cases arising from this home on an individual basis given the information that has come to light.

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