Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The ex gratiascheme covers the ten Magdalen laundries that were the subject of the McAleese report and two other institutions that were subsequently included, those being, St. Mary's training centre, Stanhope Street, and the House of Mercy training school, Summerhill, Wexford. To date, 754 applications have been received and 357 applicants have received their lump sum payments at a cost of €12.8 million. A further 106 formal offers have been made and letters of provisional assessment on the length of stay in a relevant institution have issued to an additional 35 applicants. A substantial body of work and engagement has already taken place as regards those who are eligible for the scheme.

Of the 754 applications received, 71 have been refused because the applicants were not in one of the 12 specified institutions.

Some 24 applicants listed An Grianán as the institution in which they spent time. There is an independent appeals process operated by the Office of the Ombudsman. Any woman whose application has been refused is advised that she may appeal against the decision to the Office of the Ombudsman. I understand that five applicants who were in An Grianán have appealed to the Office of the Ombudsman and decisions are awaited in respect of these cases.

I am sure the Deputy is familiar with An Grianán but I will put on the record of the House that it was established by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in the 1960s specifically for the care of teenagers. Though it was on the same site as the Magdalen laundry, St. Mary's refuge in High Park, Drumcondra, it served a different purpose. There was a number of different institutions on that site.

The different nature of An Grianán was recognised by its inclusion in the Residential Institutions Redress Board scheme. All girls admitted to An Grianán were entitled to full compensation for the entire duration of their stay under the Residential Institutions Redress Board scheme.

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