Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 27:

In page 15, line 17, to delete “as soon as practicable” and substitute “within a timeframe of no longer than three months”.

Most of the debate until now has been on the radically contentious and extremely controversial aspects of the Bill and the early years of the survivor's life, and for good reason. The first six months of anybody's life are extremely important. I am shocked that the Government discounts the importance of the relationship between mother and child and the physical effect and the emotional effect it has at that time. The Government's perspective is anti-science and anti-evidence and goes against the experience of every mother in the country. One of the difficulties I have with the Government's approach, and this Bill is an element of the Government's approach, is that the State has a long history of fighting citizens tooth and nail in trying to delay or stop redress. That is one of the reasons the country is now convulsed with the nursing home crisis and the crisis in CervicalCheck. There is not one person who has suffered an adverse experience with this State who does not face a combative, aggressive battle with the State to achieve justice. This is just another iteration of that long-time Government policy.

My worry, and the focus of this amendment, is that many of the survivors are at the other end of their lives. I believe the average age of survivors who would reach even this point in this controversial Bill is 70, which is incredible. It is stunning in all the wrong aspects. Many are not in great health. Many have had their health damaged by their experience with the State. My amendment simply seeks that the redress decision be made within a reasonable period in order that individuals can achieve the redress to which they are entitled and should get. Basically, I do not want to see a person wait for a further elongated period. With all the best will in the world, the State has previous form in delivering all these processes really slowly. The Minister's Bill states "as soon as practicable", but how long is that? Is it six months? Is it 12 months? Does a person have to wait a year or three years, potentially, before this is resolved? This amendment is a sound, fair, common-sense amendment which makes the process set in stone in law.

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