Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill, which provides for a statutory fund to support the survivors of residential institution child abuse. This Bill establishes a residential institution statutory fund board, which will oversee applications for assistance and make arrangements for the provision of approved services or grants to former residents. The fund will be entirely financed by contributions from religious congregations. Those who receive an award from the Residential Institutions Redress Board will be eligible for the funds, as will those who receive equivalent court settlements.

The Bill also provides for the dissolution of the Education Finance Board and the transfer of its functions to the residential institutions statutory fund board. The fund will be entirely financed from the cash contributions of up to €110 million offered by the religious congregations who were party to the 2002 indemnity agreement. They agreed to further contributions following the publication of the Ryan report in 2009.

To date, contributions of over €21 million have been received from the congregations to the fund. The fund's aim is to support the needs of survivors of the residential institution child abuse, as well as providing for a range of health, welfare and other services. The fund will not make financial awards but the statutory fund board will arrange for the provision of a range of approved services. The latter will include mental health, health and personal social services, GP and hospital treatment, nursing, education and housing supports for adapting or improving properties. Housing support services do not include financial aid to buy a property.

The board will comprise nine members appointed by the Minister and there will be an equitable gender balance in so far as that is practical. Four of the members will be former child residents of the institutions specified in the schedule to the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002. Among the other five board members, the Minister must ensure that some have expertise in or knowledge of keeping financial accounts and disbursement of funds, management and administration of an organisation, and provision of approved services.

Section 32 provides for the dissolution of the Education Finance Board, while section 33 provides for the transfer of its functions, properties and employees to the new board. The board's functions include: paying grants to former residents of the institutions and their relatives; assisting them to avail of educational services; providing information on education services, for which grants are payable; and determining and publishing criteria for the payment of such grants.

See this speech in context