Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I have serious concerns regarding Deputy Seán Crowe's proposals as set down in amendments Nos. 9 and 18, that an assessment panel comprising four members of the statutory fund board be established to examine applications from persons who did not make an application to the redress board, or who will have a court determination made in an action arising from their residency in a scheduled institution. Recipients of court awards will of course be eligible to apply for the fund under the provisions of the Bill. Because this is Report Stage, I was not able to make that interjection when the Deputy was speaking before. If they have established their bona fides though the award of a court decision, that qualifies them in the same way as somebody who has gone through the process.

While I do not wish to go over the ground that we have covered earlier in terms of eligibility, I must reiterate my concerns about any proposal to widen eligibility for the reasons stated. There is a finite amount of money available and any extension of eligibility will mean that this money will be used for a greater pool of potential applicants, thus in effect reducing its own effectiveness.

The redress board is the State's vehicle for making awards to those who suffered abuse in residential institutions. That board has made awards that were fair and reasonable in all the circumstances. With respect, I stress again the different role intended for the new board. As I said, it should not get involved in adjudicating on whether or not abuse took place. To allow it to do that would severely compromise its key objective which is to meet the needs of former residents who have been through that entire redress process. Regrettably, I cannot accept the amendments.

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