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

The mother and baby institutions payment scheme will provide financial payments to an estimated 34,000 people, some 19,000 of whom will also benefit from an enhanced medical card or health support payment. The benefits are in recognition of experiences while resident in mother and baby and county home institutions. The overall cost of the payment scheme is €800 million.

The Government proposal for the payment scheme was developed following deliberations on the very complex issues in question. They were informed by a consultation process, as well as a report and proposals from an interdepartmental group. The Government ultimately decided on proposals which were, in overall terms, broader than those proposed by the interdepartmental group or the commission of investigation. The scheme will provide a general payment that rises based on time spent in an institution, with eligibility determined by residence as verified by institutional records. Applicants will not be required to bring forward evidence of abuse. All mothers who spent one night or more in these institutions are eligible for the scheme.

Redress comes in many forms. In the context of children who spent less than six months in an institution and were adopted or otherwise separated from their birth family, the overwhelming priority need expressed through extensive engagement is access to records. For those children who spent short periods of time in an institution during their infancy, the action plan provides a response to their needs through the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 and the investment that has been made available to support implementation of this legislation. Since the information and tracing service under the Act came into being in October 2022, more than 8,500 applications for birth and early life information have been processed and provided.

Many people have been able to find out information about their origins through this legislation. Of course, both the payment scheme and Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 are part of a wider package of measures of 22 actions set out in the Government's action plan.

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