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

I am acutely aware of the importance of getting both the financial payments and enhanced medical cards to the people who need them as a matter of urgency. That is why the drafting of this detailed Bill was done at pace. The pre-legislative scrutiny process is almost over. I will seek to have the Bill passed early in the autumn term. It has always been my hope that the first payments will begin to be drawn down before the end of this year or very early next year. That is the timeframe we are working towards. As the Deputy knows, it is a scheme that covers a lot of people. Some 34,000 survivors will come under the remit of this scheme. It has a value of €800 million. Not until people receive the tangible benefits of this scheme will its benefit be fully understood.

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