Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Recently, the Government approved the draft 12th action plan to the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers responding to the 2014 ruling in the Louise O'Keeffe case. In Mr. Justice O'Neill's review of 19 cases that had not been successful in their applications to the ex gratiascheme, he concluded that 13 were entitled to a payment from the scheme. Sixteen offers of payment have now been made. We appreciate that some people who did not apply to the scheme in the belief that they would not have been eligible would have been eligible under the O'Neill principles. We are reviewing the scheme. An extensive engagement between the Department of Education and the Attorney General's office is ongoing. The idea is to amend the scheme and reopen it - technically it would be a new scheme - for people who ought to have received a payment but did not or who did not apply because they did not believe they would receive a payment.

We have not brought that to a conclusion yet but it has been discussed. We hope to bring it to a conclusion soon.

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