Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, who is unavoidably committed to ministerial obligations in Riga, I thank the Deputies for their comments on the Bill. I remind the House of the commitment given by the Taoiseach to the Magdalen women in this House in February 2013.

On that day the Taoiseach apologised on behalf of the State, the Government and our citizens to all those women for the hurt that was done to them and for any stigma they suffered as a result of the time they spent in Magdalen laundries. The Taoiseach informed this House that the Government had agreed to appoint Mr. Justice Quirke to make recommendations as to the criteria that should be applied in assessing the help that the Government can provide in the areas of payments and other supports, including medical cards, psychological and counselling services and other welfare needs. The purpose of this Bill is to implement the recommendations of Mr. Justice Quirke in regard to the medical card and health service provisions for these women.

If Deputies compare the wording of the Bill and the wording of Mr. Justice Quirke's recommendations, they will find that this Bill provides fully and comprehensively for the health services recommended by Mr. Justice Quirke. These include general practitioner, medical and surgical services; drugs, medicines and surgical appliances; nursing services; home help services; dental, ophthalmic and aural services; counselling services; chiropody services; and physiotherapy services. As was stated yesterday by the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, some NGOs have issued quite incorrect statements that the Bill does not provide for these services. As she stated, the only service not included in the Bill relates to alternative therapies with no proven medical benefits.

The Bill also provides these women with exemption from charges for acute inpatient services, as recommended by Mr. Justice Quirke. Furthermore, the Bill provides that payments made to these women arising from the scheme of ex gratiapayments will not be included in any financial assessment of means under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. Again, this is fully in accordance with the recommendations of Mr. Justice Quirke.

A number of issues were raised. The first refers to top-up pension-type payments. Mr. Justice Quirke's recommendation on that is being fully implemented. He did not, as has been suggested, recommend that these payments be backdated to the women's 65th birthday. This recommendation proposes that eligible women should, in addition and without regard to lump sum payments, receive weekly payments of €100 if aged under 66 years and the equivalent of the State contributory pension, €230.30, that is, if aged over 66 years for the remainder of their lives. These payments are to be calculated net of other State benefits. The Department of Social Protection has set up a separate scheme to facilitate the recommendation with regard to the top-up pension-type payments. It is continuing to process payments on a phased basis.

The Government decided that the commencement date for the scheme was 1 August 2013. Therefore, regardless of when an applicant makes an application, if eligible for the scheme, she will have appropriate payments backdated to 1 August 2013.

A question was asked about women who do not have capacity to act on their own behalf. They are already covered by section 21 of the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009, which deals with the appointment of a care representative. Mr. Justice Quirke recommended provision for a mechanism whereby a person can be appointed to act in the best interests of a woman who lacks capacity and who receives an ex gratiapayment under the scheme. This is being done through the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill currently awaiting Committee Stage in the Dáil. This Government is fully implementing the recommendations of Mr. Justice Quirke and there should be no question or doubt about that fact.

I agree with some of the sentiments expressed across the House about the nature of Irish society in the past and, as I described, our love affair with institutionalising people in mental institutions, mother and baby homes, Magdalen laundries or industrial schools. The Department of Justice and Equality and the Reception and Integration Agency do not like the comparison with direct provision centres, but in many respects it is apt. We should not live in a country with high walls where people wonder what goes on behind them, and continue that type of institutionalisation in this country. While we will do what we will do, in terms of implementing the recommendations in the report of Mr. Justice Quirke, we have to learn lessons from what happened in the past.

Direct provision has been mentioned as a comparison, but it is the value system that we have that underpins our democracy, Republic and legislation that has to teach all of us in the House and Irish society the lessons of the Magdalen laundries. I commend the Bill to the House.

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