Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe it is an actuarial exercise. If that were the concern, the Government could have tried to rely on the recommendations from the commission which were much narrower. We could have tried to rely on the recommendations of the interdepartmental group which were much narrower. However, the Government did not do that. We went significantly beyond what the commission recommended. We went significantly beyond what the interdepartmental group recommended. It would have applied financial payments to 19,000 survivors. We are applying financial payments to 34,000 survivors.

The rates are similar to those used in the Magdalen redress scheme, using the criteria of years spent in an institution. As the Deputy correctly said, for short periods of less than three months' the rate is €5,000 and for those who were there for ten years, it is €60,000. It is a sliding scale based on the scale used in the Magdalen scheme.

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