Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Later today, the Dáil will debate the redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes. Like me, the Taoiseach, I know, will have received countless emails from those who are concerned that, despite public assurances, many will be excluded from the redress scheme. To quote from today's Irish Examinerarticle by Conall Ó Fátharta and Elaine Loughlin, the proposed scheme "heaps abuse upon abuse" because "it excludes 40% of survivors", in their words, "and denies healthcare [rights] to two-thirds". There were early overtures from the Government to my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, that the Department would provide redress to those who had spent fewer than six months in an institution, but those plans, it seems, have since been abandoned.

Will the Government make public the method used to devise the eligibility criteria for survivors and will the Taoiseach explain why that six-month limit has been retained? Given recent reports about a lack of transparency in Government strategies, this sort of transparency is owed to survivors of the mother and baby homes.

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