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

I am very happy to make the interview process public and will send the Deputy details on it. The process is intended to help the women involved. We recognise that for many of them, recollecting or providing evidence on the precise length of stay is difficult. We are totally open to using other sources of information and have been doing so, such as school and social welfare work records, etc.

We have now initiated this interview process. The person being interviewed can bring somebody along, and the legal fee can be used in regard to that interview process. It is intended to give the women every opportunity to tell their story and to give information that would be helpful in making a decision. It is certainly very much on the side of the women, of listening to their stories and of seeing if we can improve the evidence in these few difficult cases. If the evidence can be built up as much as possible, it will enable them to be part of the scheme. That is the intention. I have met with the lobby group to which the Deputy referred and I have sent it information about the interview group, which I will also make public.

See this speech in context